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 audit the execution of privileged functions.

DISA Rule

SV-258842r1003645_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258842

Group Title

SRG-OS-000327-GPOS-00127

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000107

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.
• CCI-001404 - Automatically audit account disabling actions.
• CCI-002234 - Log the execution of privileged functions.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Run the following steps for each file found in the check that does not have a corresponding line in the audit rules:

Navigate to and open:

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

Add the following line:

-a always,exit -F path=<path> -F perm=x -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=unset -F key=privileged

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 output a list of files with setuid/setgid configured and their corresponding audit rules:

# for file in $(find / -xdev -path /var/lib/containerd -prune -o -path /var/lib/docker -prune -o \( -perm -4000 -o -perm -2000 \) -type f -print | sort); do echo "Found file with setuid/setgid configured: $file";rule="$(auditctl -l | grep "$file ")";echo "Audit Rule Result: $rule";echo ""; done

Example output:

Found file with setuid/setgid configured: /usr/bin/chage
Audit Rule Result: -a always,exit -S all -F path=/usr/bin/chage -F perm=x -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=privileged

Found file with setuid/setgid configured: /usr/bin/chfn
Audit Rule Result: -a always,exit -S all -F path=/usr/bin/chfn -F perm=x -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=privileged

If each file returned does not have a corresponding audit rule, 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-258842

Documentable

False

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000107

Severity Override Guidance

At the command line, run the following command to output a list of files with setuid/setgid configured and their corresponding audit rules:

# for file in $(find / -xdev -path /var/lib/containerd -prune -o -path /var/lib/docker -prune -o \( -perm -4000 -o -perm -2000 \) -type f -print | sort); do echo "Found file with setuid/setgid configured: $file";rule="$(auditctl -l | grep "$file ")";echo "Audit Rule Result: $rule";echo ""; done

Example output:

Found file with setuid/setgid configured: /usr/bin/chage
Audit Rule Result: -a always,exit -S all -F path=/usr/bin/chage -F perm=x -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=privileged

Found file with setuid/setgid configured: /usr/bin/chfn
Audit Rule Result: -a always,exit -S all -F path=/usr/bin/chfn -F perm=x -F auid>=1000 -F auid!=-1 -F key=privileged

If each file returned does not have a corresponding audit rule, 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