RHEL 9 must not have the telnet-server package installed.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257831	RHEL-09-215040	SV-257831r1044898_rule		Medium

Description

It is detrimental for operating systems to provide, or install by default, functionality exceeding requirements or mission objectives. These unnecessary capabilities are often overlooked and therefore, may remain unsecure. They increase the risk to the platform by providing additional attack vectors. The telnet service provides an unencrypted remote access service, which does not provide for the confidentiality and integrity of user passwords or the remote session. If a privileged user were to login using this service, the privileged user password could be compromised. Removing the "telnet-server" package decreases the risk of accidental (or intentional) activation of the telnet service.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-12-04

Details

Check Text (C-61572r1044897_chk)

Verify that the telnet-server package is not installed with the following command:

$ dnf list --installed telnet-server

Error: No matching Packages to list

If the "telnet-server" package is installed, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61496r925479_fix)

Remove the telnet-server package with the following command:

$ sudo dnf remove telnet-server