RHEL 10 must enforce mode "0600" or less permissive for Secure Shell (SSH) private host key files.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281085 | RHEL-10-400340 | SV-281085r1195409_rule | CCI-000213 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| If an unauthorized user obtains the private SSH host key file, the host could be impersonated. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Related Frameworks
4 paths across 3 frameworks
Related Frameworks
NIST 800-531 mapping
AC-3
1.00
- DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
NIST 800-1712 mappings
3.1.1
1.00
- DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
- NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
3.1.2
1.00
- DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
- NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
CCI1 mapping
CCI-000213
1.00
- DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related
Details
Check Text (C-281085r1195409_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 enforces mode "0600" for SSH private host key files with the following command:
$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/ssh/*_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
If any private host key file has a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85551r1195408_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 to enforce mode "0600" for SSH private host key files with the following command:
$ sudo chmod 0600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key
Restart the SSH daemon for the changes to take effect:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service