Audit Configuration Files Must Be Owned By Root
Description
All audit configuration files must be owned by root user.
To properly set the owner of /etc/audit/
, run the command:
$ sudo chown root /etc/audit/
To properly set the owner of /etc/audit/rules.d/
, run the command:
$ sudo chown root /etc/audit/rules.d/
Rationale
Without the capability to restrict which roles and individuals can
select which events are audited, unauthorized personnel may be able
to prevent the auditing of critical events.
Misconfigured audits may degrade the system’s performance by
overwhelming the audit log. Misconfigured audits may also make it more
difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate the events relating
to an incident or identify those responsible for one.
Shell script
The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.
# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ] && dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}\n' 'auditd' 2>/dev/null | grep -q installed; then
find /etc/audit/ -maxdepth 1 -type f ! -uid 0 -regex '^audit(\.rules|d\.conf)$' -exec chown 0 {} \;
find /etc/audit/rules.d/ -maxdepth 1 -type f ! -uid 0 -regex '^.\*\.rules$' -exec chown 0 {} \;
else
>&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi
Ansible playbook
The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.
- name: Gather the package facts
package\_facts:
manager: auto
tags:
- configure\_strategy
- file\_ownership\_audit\_configuration
- low\_complexity
- low\_disruption
- medium\_severity
- no\_reboot\_needed
- name: Find /etc/audit/ file(s) matching ^audit(\.rules|d\.conf)$
command: find -H /etc/audit/ -maxdepth 1 -type f ! -uid 0 -regex "^audit(\.rules|d\.conf)$"
register: files\_found
changed\_when: false
failed\_when: false
check\_mode: false
when:
- '"auditd" in ansible\_facts.packages'
- ansible\_virtualization\_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
tags:
- configure\_strategy
- file\_ownership\_audit\_configuration
- low\_complexity
- low\_disruption
- medium\_severity
- no\_reboot\_needed
- name: Ensure owner on /etc/audit/ file(s) matching ^audit(\.rules|d\.conf)$
file:
path: '{{ item }}'
owner: '0'
state: file
with\_items:
- '{{ files\_found.stdout\_lines }}'
when:
- '"auditd" in ansible\_facts.packages'
- ansible\_virtualization\_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
tags:
- configure\_strategy
- file\_ownership\_audit\_configuration
- low\_complexity
- low\_disruption
- medium\_severity
- no\_reboot\_needed
- name: Find /etc/audit/rules.d/ file(s) matching ^.\*\.rules$
command: find -H /etc/audit/rules.d/ -maxdepth 1 -type f ! -uid 0 -regex "^.\*\.rules$"
register: files\_found
changed\_when: false
failed\_when: false
check\_mode: false
when:
- '"auditd" in ansible\_facts.packages'
- ansible\_virtualization\_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
tags:
- configure\_strategy
- file\_ownership\_audit\_configuration
- low\_complexity
- low\_disruption
- medium\_severity
- no\_reboot\_needed
- name: Ensure owner on /etc/audit/rules.d/ file(s) matching ^.\*\.rules$
file:
path: '{{ item }}'
owner: '0'
state: file
with\_items:
- '{{ files\_found.stdout\_lines }}'
when:
- '"auditd" in ansible\_facts.packages'
- ansible\_virtualization\_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
tags:
- configure\_strategy
- file\_ownership\_audit\_configuration
- low\_complexity
- low\_disruption
- medium\_severity
- no\_reboot\_needed