The SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files must have mode 0640 or less permissive.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-235009 | SLES-15-040250 | SV-235009r991589_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| If an unauthorized user obtains the private SSH host key file, the host could be impersonated. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-14 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-235009r991589_chk)
Verify the SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files have mode "0640" or less permissive.
The following command will find all SSH private key files on the system:
> sudo find / -name '*ssh_host*key' -exec ls -lL {} \;
Check the mode of the private host key files under "/etc/ssh" file with the following command:
> find /etc/ssh -name 'ssh_host*key' -exec stat -c "%a %n" {} \;
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
If any file has a mode more permissive than "0640", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-38160r880957_fix)
Configure the mode of the SUSE operating system SSH daemon private host key files under "/etc/ssh" to "0640" with the following command:
> sudo chmod 0640 /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key