RHEL 8 must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-230296	RHEL-08-010550	SV-230296r858711_rule		Medium

Description
Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of security is gained by extending the policy of not logging on directly as root. In addition, logging on with a user-specific account provides individual accountability of actions performed on the system.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-03-08

Details

Check Text ( C-32965r858710_chk )
Verify remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root". Check that SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" with the following command: $ sudo grep -ir PermitRootLogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config* PermitRootLogin no If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding. If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-32965r858710_chk )

Verify remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root".

Check that SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" with the following command:

$ sudo grep -ir PermitRootLogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config*

PermitRootLogin no

If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.
If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-32940r567635_fix)
Configure RHEL 8 to stop users from logging on remotely as the "root" user via SSH. Edit the appropriate "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to uncomment or add the line for the "PermitRootLogin" keyword and set its value to "no": PermitRootLogin no 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

Fix Text (F-32940r567635_fix)

Configure RHEL 8 to stop users from logging on remotely as the "root" user via SSH.

Edit the appropriate "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to uncomment or add the line for the "PermitRootLogin" keyword and set its value to "no":

PermitRootLogin no

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