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The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disallow authentication with an empty password.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-256552 PHTN-30-000083 SV-256552r887330_rule Medium
Description
Blank passwords are one of the first things an attacker checks for when probing a system. Even is the user somehow has a blank password on the operating system, sshd must not allow that user to log in.
STIG Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide 2023-06-15

Details

Check Text ( C-60227r887328_chk )
At the command line, run the following command:

# sshd -T|&grep -i PermitEmptyPasswords

Expected result:

PermitEmptyPasswords no

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-60170r887329_fix)
Navigate to and open:

/etc/ssh/sshd_config

Ensure the "PermitEmptyPasswords" line is uncommented and set to the following:

PermitEmptyPasswords no

At the command line, run the following command:

# systemctl restart sshd.service