The Photon operating system must configure sshd to limit the number of allowed login attempts per connection.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-256557 | PHTN-30-000088 | SV-256557r991589_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| By setting the login attempt limit to a low value, an attacker will be forced to reconnect frequently, which severely limits the speed and effectiveness of brute-force attacks. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-12-16 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-256557r991589_chk)
At the command line, run the following command:
# sshd -T|&grep -i MaxAuthTries
Expected result:
MaxAuthTries 6
If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-60175r887344_fix)
Navigate to and open:
/etc/ssh/sshd_config
Ensure the "MaxAuthTries" line is uncommented and set to the following:
MaxAuthTries 6
At the command line, run the following command:
# systemctl restart sshd.service