Files executed through a mail aliases file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system, and must reside within a directory group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system.

From VMware vRealize Operations Manager 6.x SLES Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000382

SV-99183r1_rule Files executed through a mail aliases file must be group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system, and must reside within a directory group-owned by root, bin, sys, or system.

Vulnerability discussion

If a file executed through a mail aliases file is not group-owned by root or a system group, it may be subject to unauthorized modification. Unauthorized modification of files executed through aliases may allow unauthorized users to attain root privileges.

Check content

Examine the contents of the "/etc/aliases" file: # more /etc/aliases Examine the aliases file for any directories or paths that may be utilized: # ls -lL Check the permissions for any paths referenced. If the group owner of any file is not "root", "bin", "sys", or "system", this is a finding.

Fix text

Change the group ownership of the file referenced from "/etc/mail/aliases": # chgrp root

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