The ESXi host SSH daemon must perform strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-239275	ESXI-67-000020	SV-239275r674754_rule		Medium

Description
If other users have access to modify user-specific SSH configuration files, they may be able to log on to the system as another user.

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 6.7 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide	2022-01-05

Details

Check Text ( C-42508r674752_chk )
From an SSH session connected to the ESXi host, or from the ESXi shell, run the following command: # grep -i "^StrictModes" /etc/ssh/sshd_config If there is no output or the output is not exactly "StrictModes yes", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-42467r674753_fix)
From an SSH session connected to the ESXi host, or from the ESXi shell, add or correct the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config": StrictModes yes