The /etc/passwd file must be group-owned by bin, security, sys, or system.

From AIX 6.1 SECURITY TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Associated with IA controls: ECLP-1

Associated with: CCI-000225

SV-38723r1_rule The /etc/passwd file must be group-owned by bin, security, sys, or system.

Vulnerability discussion

The /etc/passwd file contains the list of local system accounts. It is vital to system security and must be protected from unauthorized modification.

Check content

Check the group ownership of the password file. Procedure: # ls -lL /etc/passwd If the file is not group-owned by security, bin, sys, or system, this is a finding.

Fix text

Change the group owner of the /etc/passwd file to security, bin, sys, or system. Procedure: # chgrp security /etc/passwd

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