Verify User Who Owns /etc/sudoers.d Directory
Ensures the /etc/sudoers.d directory is owned by root (uid 0).
Checked against a path’s metadata, mode, owner, group, SUID/SGID.
A mapping is a cross-reference to where each standard places this requirement, anchored and cross-validated, not a claim of equivalence. A passing check is evidence toward these references, how to read it.
Why this rule matters
The /etc/sudoers.d directory holds drop-in files that grant sudo privileges. If its owner is not root (uid 0), a non-privileged user could create a drop-in file granting themselves passwordless root access, resulting in a complete privilege escalation. Root ownership is essential to keep the sudo policy trustworthy.
What Pavois checks
Pavois reads the effective owner uid of /etc/sudoers.d from the filesystem (stat), reflecting the real on-disk state, including a directory recreated by a package update, rather than a value assumed from documentation. This is the directory sudo actually parses.
only_if { file('/etc/sudoers.d').exist? }
describe file('/etc/sudoers.d') do
its('uid') { should eq 0 }
endHow to verify it is applied
Run stat -c '%U' /etc/sudoers.d. The expected output is root. Alternatively, ls -ld /etc/sudoers.d should show root in the owner column.
Inspect & investigate
Ownership changes are not logged by default; inspect with ls -ld /etc/sudoers.d. Sudo usage is logged in /var/log/auth.log (Debian/Ubuntu) or /var/log/secure (RHEL). If auditd watches /etc/sudoers.d, ownership changes appear in /var/log/audit/audit.log.
Remediation
No automated harden plan is defined for this rule, so it must be applied manually: chown root /etc/sudoers.d. Verify afterwards with stat -c '%U' /etc/sudoers.d.
Pavois applies this with its own harden engine, the plan below, not a shell script:
| owner | root |
|---|---|
| path | /etc/sudoers.d |
| resource | file |
pavois harden plan localwhere the target is local, a user@host SSH alias, or a container , Docs
Impact & precautions
Setting the owner to root is the expected state and has no functional impact on sudo, which runs as root. There is no lockout risk. The change touches only directory metadata, not the drop-in policy files themselves, so existing sudo rules remain in effect.
Standards mapping
| Standard | Reference | Type | Version | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANSSI BP-028 | R50 | direct | 2.0 | high |
Each reference is a cross-reference anchored in the upstream benchmark and cross-validated against the SCAP Security Guide and ansible-lockdown, not a claim of equivalence. Direct = a prescriptive, line-level requirement; supporting = an abstract control family (NIST) the check provides evidence toward. How to read a mapping.