OpenControls Logo

STIG Viewer

STIGViewer Support

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must prevent direct login to the root account.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-270724UBTU-24-400110SV-270724r1066661_ruleCCI-004045medium
Description
To ensure individual accountability and prevent unauthorized access, organizational users must be individually identified and authenticated. A group authenticator is a generic account used by multiple individuals. Use of a group authenticator alone does not uniquely identify individual users. Examples of the group authenticator are the Unix OS "root" user account, the Windows "Administrator" account, the "sa" account, or a "helpdesk" account. For example, the Unix and Windows operating systems offer a "switch user" capability allowing users to authenticate with their individual credentials and, when needed, switch to the administrator role. This method provides for unique individual authentication prior to using a group authenticator. Users (and any processes acting on behalf of users) need to be uniquely identified and authenticated for all accesses other than those accesses explicitly identified and documented by the organization, which outlines specific user actions that can be performed on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS without identification or authentication. Requiring individuals to be authenticated with an individual authenticator prior to using a group authenticator allows for traceability of actions, as well as adding an additional level of protection of the actions that can be taken with group account knowledge.
STIGDate
Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-05-14

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 3 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

IAC-02.1Group Authentication
1.00
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (70) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-10Concurrent Session Control
1.00
AC-12Session Termination
1.00
AC-17(10)Authenticate Remote Commands
1.00
AC-2(1)Automated System Account Management
1.00
AC-2(10)Shared and Group Account Credential Change
1.00
AC-2(11)Usage Conditions
1.00
AC-2(2)Automated Temporary and Emergency Account Management
1.00
AC-2(3)Disable Accounts
1.00
AC-2(4)Automated Audit Actions
1.00
AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00

+60 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

CCI1 mapping
CCI-004045
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-270724r1066661_chk)

Verify Ubuntu 24.04 LTS prevents direct logins to the root account with the following command: $ sudo passwd -S root root L 04/08/2024 0 99999 7 -1 If the output does not contain "L" in the second field to indicate the account is locked, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-74658r1066660_fix)

Configure Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to prevent direct logins to the root account by performing the following operations: $ sudo passwd -l root