STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 9 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 9 must generate audit records for all account creations, modifications, disabling, and termination events that affect /etc/passwd.

DISA Rule

SV-258222r1210924_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258222

Group Title

SRG-OS-000004-GPOS-00004

Rule Version

RHEL-09-654240

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000015 - Support the management of system accounts using (organization-defined automated mechanisms).
• CCI-000018 - Automatically audit account creation actions.
• CCI-000130 - Ensure that audit records containing information that establishes what type of event occurred.
• CCI-000135 - Generate audit records containing the organization-defined additional information that is to be included in the audit records.
• CCI-000169 - Provide audit record generation capability for the event types the system is capable of auditing as defined in AU-2 a. on organization-defined information system components.
• CCI-000172 - Generate audit records for the event types defined in AU-2 c that include the audit record content defined in AU-3.
• CCI-001403 - Automatically audit account modification actions.
• CCI-001404 - Automatically audit account disabling actions.
• CCI-001405 - Automatically audit account removal actions.
• CCI-002130 - Automatically audit account enabling actions.
• CCI-002884 - Log organization-defined audit events for nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic sessions.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 9 to generate audit records for all account creations, modifications, disabling, and termination events that affect "/etc/passwd".

Add or update the following file system rule to "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.rules":

-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -F path=/etc/passwd -F perm=wa -k identity
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -F path=/etc/passwd -F perm=wa -k identity

To load the rules to the kernel immediately, use the following command:

$ sudo augenrules --load

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 9 generates audit records for all account creations, modifications, disabling, and termination events that affect "/etc/passwd" with the following command:

$ sudo auditctl -l | egrep '(/etc/passwd)'
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -F path=/etc/passwd -F perm=wa -k identity
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -F path=/etc/passwd -F perm=wa -k identity

If the command does not return a line, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-258222

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-654240

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 9 generates audit records for all account creations, modifications, disabling, and termination events that affect "/etc/passwd" with the following command:

$ sudo auditctl -l | egrep '(/etc/passwd)'
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -F path=/etc/passwd -F perm=wa -k identity
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -F path=/etc/passwd -F perm=wa -k identity

If the command does not return a line, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551