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1.6.4 Ensure access to /etc/motd is configured

Audit#

Run the following command and verify if /etc/motd exists, Access is 644 or more restrictive, Uid and Gid are both 0/root: 

# [ -e /etc/motd ] && stat -Lc 'Access: (%#a/%A) Uid: ( %u/ %U) Gid: { %g/ %G)' /etc/motd

Access: (0644/-rw-r--r--) Uid: ( 0/ root) Gid: ( 0/ root)
 -- OR --
Nothing is returned

Remediation#

Run the following commands to set mode, owner, and group on /etc/motd : 

# chown root:root $(readlink -e /etc/motd)
# chmod u-x,go-wx $(readlink -e /etc/motd)

  • OR - Run the following command to remove the /etc/motd file: 
    # rm /etc/motd

Default Value:
File doesn't exist