The RHEL 8 SSH daemon must not allow compression or must only allow compression after successful authentication.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-230289	RHEL-08-010510	SV-230289r627750_rule		Medium

Description
If compression is allowed in an SSH connection prior to authentication, vulnerabilities in the compression software could result in compromise of the system from an unauthenticated connection, potentially with root privileges.

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

Details

Check Text ( C-32958r567613_chk )
Verify the SSH daemon performs compression after a user successfully authenticates with the following command: $ sudo grep -i compression /etc/ssh/sshd_config Compression no If the "Compression" keyword is set to "yes", "delayed", is missing, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-32933r567614_fix)
Uncomment the "Compression" 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) on the system and set the value to "no": Compression no The SSH service must be restarted for changes to take effect.