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 group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files to prevent unauthorized access.

DISA Rule

SV-281053r1165514_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-281053

Group Title

SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400180

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 group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files to prevent unauthorized access.

Identify the group that is configured to own the audit log:

$ sudo grep -P '^[ ]*log_group[ ]+=.*$' /etc/audit/auditd.conf

Change the ownership to that group using the following command:

$ sudo chgrp ${log_group} ${log_file}

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 10 enforces group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files 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

Determine the audit log group by running the following command:

$ sudo grep -P '^[ ]*log_group[ ]+=.*$' /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_group = root

Check that the audit log file is owned by the correct group. Run the following command to display the owner of the audit log file:

$ sudo stat -c "%n %G" /var/log/audit/audit.log
/var/log/audit/audit.log root

The audit log file must be owned by the "log_group" or by "root" if the "log_group" is not specified.

If audit log files are owned by the incorrect group, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-281053

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400180

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 10 enforces group ownership by "root" or a restricted logging group for audit log files 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

Determine the audit log group by running the following command:

$ sudo grep -P '^[ ]*log_group[ ]+=.*$' /etc/audit/auditd.conf
log_group = root

Check that the audit log file is owned by the correct group. Run the following command to display the owner of the audit log file:

$ sudo stat -c "%n %G" /var/log/audit/audit.log
/var/log/audit/audit.log root

The audit log file must be owned by the "log_group" or by "root" if the "log_group" is not specified.

If audit log files are owned by the incorrect group, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5733