# CIS Ubuntu 14.04 LTS - 6.2.13 Ensure users' .netrc Files are not group or world accessible

> Verify .netrc files are not accessible by group or world

- Skill: `cyberstrikeus/cis-ubuntu-14-04-lts-6-2-13-ensure-users-netrc-files-are-not` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cyberstrikeus/cis-ubuntu-14-04-lts-6-2-13-ensure-users-netrc-files-are-not`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cyberstrikeus/cis-ubuntu-14-04-lts-6-2-13-ensure-users-netrc-files-are-not/raw
- Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: cyberstrikeus (https://skillmd.com/u/cyberstrikeus)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cyberstrikeus/cis-ubuntu-14-04-lts-6-2-13-ensure-users-netrc-files-are-not

---


# 6.2.13 Ensure users' .netrc Files are not group or world accessible (Scored)

## Profile Applicability

- Level 1 - Server
- Level 1 - Workstation

## Description

While the system administrator can establish secure permissions for users' `.netrc` files, the users can easily override these.

## Rationale

`.netrc` files may contain unencrypted passwords that may be used to attack other systems.

## Audit Procedure

Run the following script and verify no results are returned:

```bash
#!/bin/bash

cat /etc/passwd | egrep -v '^(root|halt|sync|shutdown)' | awk -F: '($7 != "/sbin/nologin" && $7 != "/bin/false") { print $1 " " $6 }' | while read user dir; do
  if [ ! -d "$dir" ]; then
     echo "The home directory ($dir) of user $user does not exist."
  else
     for file in $dir/.netrc; do
       if [ ! -h "$file" -a -f "$file" ]; then
          fileperm=`ls -ld $file | cut -f1 -d" "`
          if [ `echo $fileperm | cut -c5`  != "-" ]; then
            echo "Group Read set on $file"
          fi
          if [ `echo $fileperm | cut -c6`  != "-" ]; then
            echo "Group Write set on $file"
          fi
          if [ `echo $fileperm | cut -c7`  != "-" ]; then
            echo "Group Execute set on $file"
          fi
          if [ `echo $fileperm | cut -c8`  != "-" ]; then
            echo "Other Read set on $file"
          fi
          if [ `echo $fileperm | cut -c9`  != "-" ]; then
            echo "Other Write set on $file"
          fi
          if [ `echo $fileperm | cut -c10`  != "-" ]; then
            echo "Other Execute set on $file"
          fi
       fi
     done
  fi
done
```

## Expected Result

No output should be returned.

## Remediation

Making global modifications to users' files without alerting the user community can result in unexpected outages and unhappy users. Therefore, it is recommended that a monitoring policy be established to report user `.netrc` file permissions and determine the action to be taken in accordance with site policy.

## Default Value

Not applicable.

## Notes

While the complete removal of .netrc files is recommended if any are required on the system secure permissions must be applied.

On some distributions the `/sbin/nologin` should be replaced with `/usr/sbin/nologin`.

## References

None

## CIS Controls

14.4 Protect Information With Access Control Lists - All information stored on systems shall be protected with file system, network share, claims, application, or database specific access control lists.

## Profile

- Level 1