Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 • Release: 7 Benchmark Date: 05 Jan 2026

CAT II V-257908 RHEL-09-232140

RHEL 9 /etc/passwd- file must be owned by root.

Documentable No
Rule ID SV-257908r991589_rule
CCI References
CCI-000366

Discussion

The "/etc/passwd-" file is a backup file of "/etc/passwd", and as such, contains information about the users that are configured on the system. Protection of this file is critical for system security.

Check Procedure

Verify the ownership of the "/etc/passwd-" file with the following command:

$ sudo stat -c "%U %n" /etc/passwd- 

root /etc/passwd- 

If "/etc/passwd-" file does not have an owner of "root", this is a finding.

Fix Action

Change the owner of the file /etc/passwd- to root by running the following command:

$ sudo chown root /etc/passwd-