DISA STIGS Viewer

RHEL 9 SSH server configuration file must be group-owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-257997 RHEL-09-255105 SV-257997r1045057_rule   Medium
Description
Service configuration files enable or disable features of their respective services, which if configured incorrectly, can lead to insecure and vulnerable configurations. Therefore, service configuration files must be owned by the correct group to prevent unauthorized changes.
STIG Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2024-12-04

Details

Check Text (C-61738r1045056_chk)
Verify the group ownership of the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file and the contents of "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d" with the following command:

$ sudo find /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d -exec stat -c "%G %n" {} \;

root /etc/ssh/sshd_config
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-cloud-init.conf
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-redhat.conf

If the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file or "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d" or any files in the sshd_config.d directory do not have a group owner of "root", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-61662r925977_fix)
Configure the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to be group-owned by root with the following command:

$ sudo chgrp root /etc/ssh/sshd_config