RHEL 8 must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-230296 | RHEL-08-010550 | SV-230296r1069322_rule | CCI-000770 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of security is gained by extending the policy of not logging on directly as root. In addition, logging on with a user-specific account provides individual accountability of actions performed on the system. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-14 | |||
Related Frameworks
2 paths across 2 frameworks
Related Frameworks
NIST 800-531 mapping
IA-2(5)
1.00
- DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
CCI1 mapping
CCI-000770
1.00
- DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
Details
Check Text (C-230296r1069322_chk)
Verify remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root".
Check that SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" with the following command:
$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*permitrootlogin'
PermitRootLogin no
If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to any value other than "no", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.
If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-32940r567635_fix)
Configure RHEL 8 to stop users from logging on remotely as the "root" user via SSH.
Edit the appropriate "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to uncomment or add the line for the "PermitRootLogin" keyword and set its value to "no":
PermitRootLogin no
The SSH daemon must be restarted for the changes to take effect. To restart the SSH daemon, run the following command:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service