RHEL 9 must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257985	RHEL-09-255045	SV-257985r943036_rule		Medium

Description
Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of security is gained by extending the policy of not logging directly on as root. In addition, logging in with a user-specific account provides individual accountability of actions performed on the system and also helps to minimize direct attack attempts on root's password. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000109-GPOS-00056, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Description

Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of security is gained by extending the policy of not logging directly on as root. In addition, logging in with a user-specific account provides individual accountability of actions performed on the system and also helps to minimize direct attack attempts on root's password. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000109-GPOS-00056, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-61726r943035_chk )
Verify RHEL 9 remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" with the following command: $ sudo grep -ir PermitRootLogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/* PermitRootLogin no If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61650r925941_fix)
To configure the system to prevent SSH users from logging on directly as root add or modify the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config". PermitRootLogin no Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect: $ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service