The RHEL 8 SSH daemon must perform strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-230288 | RHEL-08-010500 | SV-230288r1017099_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| If other users have access to modify user-specific SSH configuration files, they may be able to log on to the system as another user. |
| STIG | Date |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-11-25 |
Details
| Check Text (C-32957r951599_chk) |
| Verify the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files with the following command: $ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*strictmodes' StrictModes yes If "StrictModes" is set to "no", is missing, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding. If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-32932r567611_fix) |
| Configure SSH to perform strict mode checking of home directory configuration files. Uncomment the "StrictModes" keyword in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" and set the value to "yes": StrictModes yes 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 |