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6.1.10 Ensure no world writable files exist

Information

Unix-based systems support variable settings to control access to files. World writable files are the least secure. See the chmod(2) man page for more information.

Data in world-writable files can be modified and compromised by any user on the system. World writable files may also indicate an incorrectly written script or program that could potentially be the cause of a larger compromise to the system's integrity.

Solution

Removing write access for the "other" category ( chmod o-w <filename> ) is advisable, but always consult relevant vendor documentation to avoid breaking any application dependencies on a given file.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/8415

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6b., CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000366, CSCv7|14.6, Rule-ID|SV-204478r603261_rule, STIG-ID|RHEL-07-020730, Vuln-ID|V-204478

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: f0386c8b124ef47bcb1e02721bd2d5f6c6fe0f8b4cd79448517d422d0f14c9a6