STIGQter: STIG Summary: IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 3 Release: 3 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The AIX /etc/hosts file must be owned by root.

DISA Rule

SV-245557r991589_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-245557

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Rule Version

AIX7-00-002140

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000366 - Implement the security configuration settings.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Change the ownership of the file to root using command:
# chown root /etc/hosts

Check Contents

Check the ownership of /etc/hosts using command:
# ls -al /etc/hosts

The above command should yield the following output:
-rw-r----- 1 root system 993 Mar 11 07:04 /etc/hosts

If the file is not owned by root, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-245557

Documentable

False

Rule Version

AIX7-00-002140

Severity Override Guidance

Check the ownership of /etc/hosts using command:
# ls -al /etc/hosts

The above command should yield the following output:
-rw-r----- 1 root system 993 Mar 11 07:04 /etc/hosts

If the file is not owned by root, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

4012