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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-218000	RHEL-06-000237	SV-218000r505923_rule		Medium

Description
Permitting direct root login reduces auditable information about who ran privileged commands on the system and also allows direct attack attempts on root's password.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-09-03

Details

Check Text ( C-19481r377015_chk )
To determine how the SSH daemon's "PermitRootLogin" option is set, run the following command: # grep -i PermitRootLogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config If a line indicating "no" is returned, then the required value is set. If the required value is not set, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-19479r377016_fix)
The root user should never be allowed to log in to a system directly over a network. To disable root login via SSH, add or correct the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config": PermitRootLogin no