The /etc/passwd file contains user account information that is used by many system utilities and therefore must be readable for these utilities to operate. Rationale: It is critical to ensure that the /etc/passwd file is protected from unauthorized write access. Although it is protected by default, the file permissions could be changed either inadvertently or through malicious actions. [perm_644] If the permissions of the /etc/passwd file are incorrect, run the following command to correct them: # /bin/chmod 644 /etc/passwd oval:org.secpod.oval:def:51253 SCAP Repo OVAL Definition 2019-04-16