UCF STIG Viewer Logo
Changes are coming to https://stigviewer.com. Take our survey to help us understand your usage and how we can better serve you in the future.
Take Survey

RHEL 9 SSH private host key files must have mode 0640 or less permissive.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-258000 RHEL-09-255120 SV-258000r991589_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 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2024-06-04

Details

Check Text ( C-61741r925985_chk )
Verify the SSH private host key files have a mode of "0640" or less permissive with the following command:

$ ls -l /etc/ssh/*_key

640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key

If any private host key file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-61665r925986_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

Restart the SSH daemon for the changes to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service