The RHEL 8 SSH private host key files must have mode 0640 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-230287	RHEL-08-010490	SV-230287r627750_rule		Medium

Description
If an unauthorized user obtains the private SSH host key file, the host could be impersonated.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-03-04

Details

Check Text ( C-32956r567607_chk )
Verify the SSH private host key files have mode "0640" or less permissive with the following command: $ sudo ls -l /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key -rw------- 1 root ssh_keys 668 Nov 28 06:43 ssh_host_dsa_key -rw------- 1 root ssh_keys 582 Nov 28 06:43 ssh_host_key -rw------- 1 root ssh_keys 887 Nov 28 06:43 ssh_host_rsa_key If any private host key file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-32956r567607_chk )

Verify the SSH private host key files have mode "0640" or less permissive with the following command:

$ sudo ls -l /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key

-rw------- 1 root ssh_keys 668 Nov 28 06:43 ssh_host_dsa_key
-rw------- 1 root ssh_keys 582 Nov 28 06:43 ssh_host_key
-rw------- 1 root ssh_keys 887 Nov 28 06:43 ssh_host_rsa_key

If any private host key file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-32931r567608_fix)
Configure the mode of SSH private host key files under "/etc/ssh" to "0640" with the following command: $ sudo chmod 0640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key The SSH daemon must be restarted for the changes to take effect. To restart the SSH daemon, run the following command: $ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service