The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disallow Generic Security Service Application Program Interface (GSSAPI) authentication.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256547	PHTN-30-000078	SV-256547r887315_rule		Medium

Description
GSSAPI authentication is used to provide additional authentication mechanisms to applications. Allowing GSSAPI authentication through Secure Shell (SSH) exposes the system's GSSAPI to remote hosts, increasing the attack surface of the system.

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-60222r887313_chk )
At the command line, run the following command: # sshd -T|&grep -i GSSAPIAuthentication Expected result: GSSAPIAuthentication no If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60165r887314_fix)
Navigate to and open: /etc/ssh/sshd_config Ensure the "GSSAPIAuthentication" line is uncommented and set to the following: GSSAPIAuthentication no At the command line, run the following command: # systemctl restart sshd.service