UCF STIG Viewer Logo

The Ubuntu operating system must not allow unattended or automatic login via ssh.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-219314 UBTU-18-010424 SV-219314r610963_rule High
Description
Failure to restrict system access to authenticated users negatively impacts Ubuntu operating system security.
STIG Date
Canonical Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide 2021-03-10

Details

Check Text ( C-21039r305270_chk )
Verify that unattended or automatic login via ssh is disabled.

Check that unattended or automatic login via ssh is disabled with the following command:

# egrep '(Permit(.*?)(Passwords|Environment))' /etc/ssh/sshd_config

PermitEmptyPasswords no
PermitUserEnvironment no

If "PermitEmptyPasswords" or "PermitUserEnvironment" keywords are not set to "no", are missing completely, or they are commented out, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-21038r305271_fix)
Configure the Ubuntu operating system to allow the SSH daemon to not allow unattended or automatic login to the system.

Add or edit the following lines in the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file:

PermitEmptyPasswords no
PermitUserEnvironment no

In order for the changes to take effect, the SSH daemon must be restarted.

# sudo systemctl restart sshd.service