RHEL 9 /etc/gshadow- file must be owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257904	RHEL-09-232120	SV-257904r991589_rule		Medium

Description

The "/etc/gshadow-" file is a backup of "/etc/gshadow", and as such, contains group password hashes. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-05-14

Details

Check Text (C-61645r925697_chk)

Verify the ownership of the "/etc/gshadow-" file with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%U %n" /etc/gshadow-

root /etc/gshadow-

If "/etc/gshadow-" file does not have an owner of "root", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61569r925698_fix)

Change the owner of the file /etc/gshadow- to root by running the following command:

$ sudo chown root /etc/gshadow-