---
title: "HOST-AUD-001 Audit Daemon Not Enabled at Boot"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-AUD-001.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-AUD-001.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# HOST-AUD-001 Audit Daemon Not Enabled at Boot

Checks that the audit daemon (auditd) is set to start at every boot, not only running now.

- Domain: Server
- Severity: Low
- Control category: Logging and Monitoring
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 8.2
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-04
- CWE: CWE-778
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A09:2021
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: AU-2, AU-12
- Benchmark topic: Audit daemon enabled at boot (CIS Controls v8 8.2) (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

An audit daemon that was started by hand stops recording at the next reboot, leaving a gap exactly when an attacker who forced a restart would want one. HOST-LOG-002 reports whether auditd is running; this check reports whether it will come back.

## How It Detects

Runs the allow-listed read-only command systemctl is-enabled auditd and reads the single word it prints: enabled, static, alias or indirect pass; disabled, masked or enabled-runtime fail. If the command cannot run and /etc/audit exists the result is Incomplete; if /etc/audit does not exist the check is skipped.

## How to Fix

systemctl enable auditd  (on some distributions: systemctl enable --now auditd). Then confirm the rules in /etc/audit/rules.d load at boot with augenrules --check.

## How to Verify

```
systemctl is-enabled auditd  should print enabled.
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P21 Audit Logging and Monitoring Depth](https://openvapt.com/academy/p21.md)

## References

- [auditd(8), Linux man-pages](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/auditd.8.html)
- [NIST SP 800-92, Guide to Computer Security Log Management](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/92/final)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/host/audit_journal.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only HOST-AUD-001`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain HOST-AUD-001`.

---

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