TOSS 5 SSHD must not allow blank or null passwords.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-282493 | TOSS-05-000238 | SV-282493r1200459_rule | CCI-000766 | high |
| Description | ||||
| If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Tri-Lab Operating System Stack (TOSS) 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-04-01 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-282493r1200459_chk)
Verify TOSS 5 remote access using SSH prevents logging on with a blank password using the following command:
$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*permitemptypasswords'
PermitEmptyPassword no
If the "PermitEmptyPassword" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-86959r1200458_fix)
Configure the system to prevent SSH users from logging on with blank passwords by editing the following line in "etc/ssh/sshd_config":
PermitEmptyPasswords no
Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service