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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257908	RHEL-09-232140	SV-257908r991589_rule		Medium

Description

The "/etc/passwd-" file is a backup file of "/etc/passwd", and as such, contains information about the users that are configured on the system. 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-61649r925709_chk)

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

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

root /etc/passwd-

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

Fix Text (F-61573r925710_fix)

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

$ sudo chown root /etc/passwd-