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

RHEL 10 must set mode "0600" or less permissive for the audit logs file to prevent unauthorized access to the audit log.

DISA Rule

SV-281054r1197224_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-281054

Group Title

SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400185

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 audit logs to have a mode of "0600" with the following command:

Replace "[audit_log_file]" with the path to each audit log file. By default, these logs are located in "/var/log/audit/":

$ sudo chmod 0600 /var/log/audit/[audit_log_file]

Check the group that owns the system audit logs:

$ sudo grep -iw log_group /etc/audit/auditd.conf

If "log_group" is set to a user other than "root", configure the permissions the following way:

$ sudo chmod 0640 $log_file
$ sudo chmod 0440 $log_file.*

Otherwise, configure the permissions the following way:

$ sudo chmod 0600 $log_file
$ sudo chmod 0400 $log_file.*

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 10 audit logs have a mode of "0600".

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 the mode of each audit log with the following command:

$ sudo find /var/log/audit/ -type f -exec stat -c '%a %n' {} \;
600 /var/log/audit/audit.log

If the audit logs have a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-281054

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-10-400185

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 10 audit logs have a mode of "0600".

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 the mode of each audit log with the following command:

$ sudo find /var/log/audit/ -type f -exec stat -c '%a %n' {} \;
600 /var/log/audit/audit.log

If the audit logs have a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5733