RHEL 10 must be configured so that Secure Shell (SSH) public host key files have mode "0644" or less permissive.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281253 | RHEL-10-700500 | SV-281253r1184654_rule | CCI-002696 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| If a public host key file is modified by an unauthorized user, the SSH service may be compromised. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281253r1184654_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 SSH public host key files have a mode of "0644" or less permissive with the following command:
Note: SSH public key files may be found in other directories on the system depending on the installation.
$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/ssh/*.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub
If any "key.pub" file has a mode more permissive than "0644", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85719r1166710_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 SSH public host key files to have mode "0644" or less permissive.
Change the mode of public host key files under "/etc/ssh" to "0644" with the following command:
$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/ssh/*key.pub
Restart the SSH daemon with the following command for the changes to take effect:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service