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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257912	RHEL-09-232160	SV-257912r991589_rule		Medium

Description

The "/etc/shadow-" file is a backup file of "/etc/shadow", and as such, contains the list of local system accounts and 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-61653r925721_chk)

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

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

root /etc/shadow-

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

Fix Text (F-61577r925722_fix)

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

$ sudo chown root /etc/shadow-