STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 10 must enforce "root" ownership of audit logs to prevent unauthorized access.

DISA Rule

SV-281052r1165511_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-281052

Group Title

SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400175

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000162 - Protect audit information from unauthorized access.
• CCI-000163 - Protect audit information from unauthorized modification.
• CCI-000164 - Protect audit information from unauthorized deletion.
• CCI-001314 - Reveal error messages only to organization-defined personnel or roles.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 10 to enforce "root" ownership of audit logs to prevent unauthorized access with the following command:

$ sudo chown root [audit_log_file]

Replace "[audit_log_file]" with the correct audit log path. By default this location is "/var/log/audit/audit.log".

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 10 enforces "root" ownership of audit logs to prevent unauthorized access.

Determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command:

$ sudo grep "^log_file" /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log

Using the location of the audit log file, determine if the audit log files are owned by "root" using the following command:

$ sudo ls -la /var/log/audit/audit.log
rw-------. 2 root root 237923 Jun 11 11:56 /var/log/audit/audit.log

If the audit logs are not owned by "root", this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-281052

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400175

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 10 enforces "root" ownership of audit logs to prevent unauthorized access.

Determine where the audit logs are stored with the following command:

$ sudo grep "^log_file" /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_file = /var/log/audit/audit.log

Using the location of the audit log file, determine if the audit log files are owned by "root" using the following command:

$ sudo ls -la /var/log/audit/audit.log
rw-------. 2 root root 237923 Jun 11 11:56 /var/log/audit/audit.log

If the audit logs are not owned by "root", this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5733