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

CAT II V-257922 RHEL-09-232210

RHEL 9 library directories must be owned by root.

Documentable No
Rule ID SV-257922r1044988_rule
CCI References
CCI-001499

If RHEL 9 allowed any user to make changes to software libraries, then those changes might be implemented without undergoing the appropriate testing and approvals that are part of a robust change management process. This requirement applies to RHEL 9 with software libraries that are accessible and configurable, as in the case of interpreted languages. Software libraries also include privileged programs that execute with escalated privileges.

Check Procedure

Verify the systemwide shared library directories are owned by "root" with the following command:

$ sudo find /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 ! -user root -type d -exec stat -c "%U %n" {} \;

If any systemwide shared library directory is not owned by "root", this is a finding.

Fix Action

Configure the systemwide shared library directories within (/lib, /lib64, /usr/lib and /usr/lib64) to be protected from unauthorized access.

Run the following command, replacing "[DIRECTORY]" with any library directory not owned by "root".

$ sudo chown root [DIRECTORY]