The system must not permit root logins using remote access programs such as SSH.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-1047	GEN001120	SV-38207r1_rule	ECPA-1	Medium

Description
Even though communications are encrypted, an additional layer of security may be gained by extending the policy of not logging directly on as root. In addition, logging in with a user-specific account preserves the audit trail.

STIG	Date
HP-UX 11.23 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2013-03-28

Details

Check Text ( C-36279r1_chk )
Check the SSH daemon configuration. Note that keywords are case-insensitive and arguments (args) are case-sensitive. keyword=PermitRootLogin Required arg(s)=no Default arg values include: "yes" Note: When the default "arg" value exactly matches the required "arg" value (see above), the are not required to exist (commented or uncommented) in the ssh (client) or sshd (server) configuration file. While not required, it is recommended that the configuration file(s) be populated with all keywords and assigned arg values as a means to explicitly document the ssh(d) binary's expected behavior. Examine the file. # cat /opt/ssh/etc/sshd_config \| tr '\011' ' ' \| tr -s ' ' \| sed -e 's/^[ \t]*//' \| grep -v '^#' \| grep -i "PermitRootLogin" If the return value is yes, without-password or forced-commands-only, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-36279r1_chk )

Check the SSH daemon configuration. Note that keywords are case-insensitive and arguments (args) are case-sensitive.

keyword=PermitRootLogin
Required arg(s)=no

Default arg values include: "yes"

Note: When the default "arg" value exactly matches the required "arg" value (see above), the are not required to exist (commented or uncommented) in the ssh (client) or sshd (server) configuration file. While not required, it is recommended that the configuration file(s) be populated with all keywords and assigned arg values as a means to explicitly document the ssh(d) binary's expected behavior.

Examine the file.
# cat /opt/ssh/etc/sshd_config | tr '\011' ' ' | tr -s ' ' | sed -e 's/^[ \t]*//' | grep -v '^#' | grep -i "PermitRootLogin"

If the return value is yes, without-password or forced-commands-only, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-24426r1_fix)
Edit the configuration file and set the PermitRootLogin option to no.