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Root passwords must never be passed over a network in clear text form.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-1046 GEN001100 SV-38240r1_rule IAIA-2 ECNK-1 ECNK-2 IAIA-1 High
Description
If a user accesses the root account (or any account) using an unencrypted connection, the password is passed over the network in clear text form and is subject to interception and misuse. This is true even if recommended procedures are followed by logging on to a named account and using the su command to access root.
STIG Date
HP-UX 11.23 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2015-12-02

Details

Check Text ( C-36280r1_chk )
Perform the following to determine if root has logged in over an unencrypted network connection. The first command determines if root has logged in over a network. The second will check to see if the SSH daemon is running.

Procedure:
# last -R | grep "^root " | egrep -v "reboot|console" | more
# ps -ef |grep sshd

If the output from the last command shows root has logged in over the network and sshd is not running, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-31537r1_fix)
Enable SSH on the system and use it for all remote connections used to attain root access.