The TOSS 5 SSH daemon must perform strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-282713 | TOSS-05-000259 | SV-282713r1201377_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| If other users have access to modify user-specific SSH configuration files, they may be able to log into the system as another user. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Tri-Lab Operating System Stack (TOSS) 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-04-01 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-282713r1201377_chk)
Verify the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files 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*strictmodes'
StrictModes yes
If the "StrictModes" keyword is set to "no", the returned line is commented out, or no output is returned, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-87179r1201376_fix)
Configure the SSH daemon to perform strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.
Add the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" or uncomment the line and set the value to "yes":
StrictModes yes
Restart the SSH service for changes to take effect:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service