There must be no .shosts files on RHEL 9.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257956	RHEL-09-252075	SV-257956r991589_rule		High

Description

The .shosts files are used to configure host-based authentication for individual users or the system via SSH. Host-based authentication is not sufficient for preventing unauthorized access to the system, as it does not require interactive identification and authentication of a connection request, or for the use of two-factor authentication.

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

Details

Check Text (C-61697r925853_chk)

Verify there are no ".shosts" files on RHEL 9 with the following command:

$ sudo find / -name .shosts

If a ".shosts" file is found, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61621r925854_fix)

Remove any found ".shosts" files from the system.

$ sudo rm /[path]/[to]/[file]/.shosts