The SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files must have mode 0640 or less permissive.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-217276	SLES-12-030220	SV-217276r880919_rule		Medium

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

STIG	Date
SLES 12 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-06-02

Details

Check Text ( C-18504r880917_chk )
Verify the SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files have mode "0640" or less permissive. The following command will find all SSH private key files on the system: > sudo find / -name 'ssh_hostkey' -exec ls -lL {} \; Check the mode of the private host key files under "/etc/ssh" file with the following command: > find /etc/ssh -name 'ssh_host*key' -exec stat -c "%a %n" {} \; 640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key 640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key 640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key 640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key If any file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-18504r880917_chk )

Verify the SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files have mode "0640" or less permissive.

The following command will find all SSH private key files on the system:

> sudo find / -name '*ssh_host*key' -exec ls -lL {} \;

Check the mode of the private host key files under "/etc/ssh" file with the following command:

> find /etc/ssh -name 'ssh_host*key' -exec stat -c "%a %n" {} \;

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

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

Fix Text (F-18502r880918_fix)
Configure the mode of the SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files under "/etc/ssh" to "0640" with the following command: > sudo chmod 0640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key