The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disallow authentication with an empty password.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-256552 | PHTN-30-000083 | SV-256552r991589_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Blank passwords are one of the first things an attacker checks for when probing a system. Even is the user somehow has a blank password on the operating system, sshd must not allow that user to log in. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-12-16 | |||
Related Frameworks
4 paths across 3 frameworks
Related Frameworks
NIST 800-531 mapping
CM-6
1.00
- DISA · V1R4 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
NIST 800-1712 mappings
3.4.1
1.00
- DISA · V1R4 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
- NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
3.4.2
1.00
- DISA · V1R4 · disa_xccdf · related
- DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
- NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
CCI1 mapping
CCI-000366
1.00
- DISA · V1R4 · disa_xccdf · related
Details
Check Text (C-256552r991589_chk)
At the command line, run the following command:
# sshd -T|&grep -i PermitEmptyPasswords
Expected result:
PermitEmptyPasswords no
If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-60170r887329_fix)
Navigate to and open:
/etc/ssh/sshd_config
Ensure the "PermitEmptyPasswords" line is uncommented and set to the following:
PermitEmptyPasswords no
At the command line, run the following command:
# systemctl restart sshd.service