AIX cron and crontab directories must have a mode of 0640 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-245560	AIX7-00-002143	SV-245560r991589_rule		Medium

Description

Incorrect permissions of the cron or crontab directories could permit unauthorized users the ability to alter cron jobs and run automated jobs as privileged users. Failure to set proper permissions of cron or crontab directories provides unauthorized users with the potential to access sensitive information or change the system configuration which could weaken the system's security posture.

STIG	Date
IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-08-16

Details

Check Text (C-48839r755119_chk)

Check the mode of the "crontab" directory using command:

# ls -ld /var/spool/cron/crontabs
drw-r----- 2 bin cron 256 Jan 25 12:33 /var/spool/cron/crontabs

If the file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-48794r755120_fix)

Change the owner of the "crontab" directory:
# chmod 640 /var/spool/cron/crontabs