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6.1.3 Ensure permissions on /etc/master.passwd are configured

Information

The /etc/master.passwd file is used to store the information about user accounts that is critical to the security of those accounts, such as the hashed password and other security information.

If attackers can gain read access to the /etc/master.passwd file, they can easily run a password cracking program against the hashed password to break it. Other security information stored in the /etc/master.passwd file (such as expiration) could also be helpful in subverting user accounts.

Solution

Run the following commands to set mode, owner, and group on /etc/master.passwd :

# chown root:wheel /etc/master.passwd
# chmod 0000 /etc/master.passwd

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/19044

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL, MEDIA PROTECTION

References: 800-53|AC-3, 800-53|AC-5, 800-53|AC-6, 800-53|MP-2, CSCv7|14.6

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 0c7055e0f24159b4c8c15ec2e001d4ec6465a2000a028f21b750bf9ee7696d1d