UCF STIG Viewer Logo

The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disallow root logins.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-239107 PHTN-67-000035 SV-239107r675129_rule Medium
Description
Logging on with a user-specific account provides individual accountability for actions performed on the system. Users must log in with their individual accounts and elevate to root as necessary. Disallowing root SSH login also reduces the distribution of the root password to users who may not otherwise need that level of privilege.
STIG Date
VMware vSphere 6.7 Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide 2022-09-27

Details

Check Text ( C-42318r675127_chk )
At the command line, execute the following command:

# sshd -T|&grep -i PermitRootLogin

Expected result:

permitrootlogin no

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-42277r675128_fix)
Open /etc/ssh/sshd_config with a text editor and ensure that the "PermitRootLogin" line is uncommented and set to the following:

PermitRootLogin no

At the command line, execute the following command:

# service sshd reload