STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The Photon operating system must generate audit records when successful/unsuccessful attempts to access privileges occur.

DISA Rule

SV-258813r958446_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258813

Group Title

SRG-OS-000064-GPOS-00033

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000031

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000172 - Generate audit records for the event types defined in AU-2 c that include the audit record content defined in AU-3.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Navigate to and open:

/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules

Add or update the following lines:

-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,chown,fchown,lchown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=unset -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,chown,fchown,lchown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid=0 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,lchown,fchmod,fchown,chown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=unset -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,lchown,fchmod,fchown,chown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid=0 -F key=perm_mod

At the command line, run the following command to load the new audit rules:

# /sbin/augenrules --load

Note: An "audit.STIG.rules" file is provided with this guidance for placement in "/etc/audit/rules.d" that contains all rules needed for auditd.

Note: An older "audit.STIG.rules" may exist and may reference older "GEN" SRG IDs. This file can be removed and replaced as necessary with an updated one.

Check Contents

At the command line, run the following command to verify an audit rule exists to audit account creations:

# auditctl -l | grep chmod

Expected result:

-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,chown,fchown,lchown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,chown,fchown,lchown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid=0 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,lchown,fchmod,fchown,chown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,lchown,fchmod,fchown,chown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid=0 -F key=perm_mod

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Note: This check depends on the "auditd" service to be in a running state for accurate results. The "auditd" service is enabled in control PHTN-40-000016.

Note: auid!=-1, auid!=4294967295, auid!=unset are functionally equivalent in this check and the output of the above commands may be displayed in either format.

Vulnerability Number

V-258813

Documentable

False

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000031

Severity Override Guidance

At the command line, run the following command to verify an audit rule exists to audit account creations:

# auditctl -l | grep chmod

Expected result:

-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,chown,fchown,lchown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S chmod,fchmod,chown,fchown,lchown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid=0 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,lchown,fchmod,fchown,chown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=perm_mod
-a always,exit -F arch=b32 -S chmod,lchown,fchmod,fchown,chown,setxattr,lsetxattr,fsetxattr,removexattr,lremovexattr,fremovexattr,fchownat,fchmodat -F auid=0 -F key=perm_mod

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Note: This check depends on the "auditd" service to be in a running state for accurate results. The "auditd" service is enabled in control PHTN-40-000016.

Note: auid!=-1, auid!=4294967295, auid!=unset are functionally equivalent in this check and the output of the above commands may be displayed in either format.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5569