The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.

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The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-204600	RHEL-07-040450	SV-204600r603261_rule		Medium

Description
If other users have access to modify user-specific SSH configuration files, they may be able to log on to the system as another user.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2022-12-06

Details

Check Text ( C-4724r88992_chk )
Verify the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files. The location of the "sshd_config" file may vary if a different daemon is in use. Inspect the "sshd_config" file with the following command: # grep -i strictmodes /etc/ssh/sshd_config StrictModes yes If "StrictModes" is set to "no", is missing, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-4724r88993_fix)
Uncomment the "StrictModes" keyword in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" (this file may be named differently or be in a different location if using a version of SSH that is provided by a third-party vendor) and set the value to "yes": StrictModes yes The SSH service must be restarted for changes to take effect.