Vulnerability Discussion

The audit log folder must be configured to mode 700 or less permissive so that only the root user is able to read, write, and execute changes to folders.

Because audit logs contain sensitive data about the system and users, the audit service must be configured to mode 700 or less permissive to prevent normal users from reading, modifying or deleting audit logs.

Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027, SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028, SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029, SRG-OS-000256-GPOS-00097, SRG-OS-000257-GPOS-00098, SRG-OS-000258-GPOS-00099

Check

Verify the macOS system is configured with audit log folders set to mode 700 or less permissive with the following command:

/usr/bin/stat -f %A $(/usr/bin/grep '^dir' /etc/security/audit_control | /usr/bin/awk -F: '{print $2}')

If the result is not a mode of 700 or less permissive, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the macOS system with audit log folders set to mode 700 with the following command:

/bin/chmod 700 /var/audit