Description
To properly set the owner of /etc/cron.d, run the command:
$ sudo chown root /etc/cron.d
Rationale
Service configuration files enable or disable features of their respective services that if configured incorrectly
can lead to insecure and vulnerable configurations. Therefore, service configuration files should be owned by the
correct user to prevent unauthorized changes.
Shell script
The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.
#!/bin/bash
# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ]; then
find -H /etc/cron.d/ -maxdepth 1 -L -type d -exec chown -L 0 {} \;
else
>&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi
Ansible playbook
The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.
- name: Ensure owner on directory /etc/cron.d/
file:
path: /etc/cron.d/
state: directory
owner: '0'
when: ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
tags:
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- configure_strategy
- file_owner_cron_d
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
