The Photon operating system must be configured to protect the Secure Shell (SSH) public host key from unauthorized modification.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258895 | PHTN-40-000233 | SV-258895r933746_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| If a public host key file is modified by an unauthorized user, the SSH service may be compromised. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2023-10-29 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-258895r933746_chk)
At the command line, run the following command:
# stat -c "%n permissions are %a and owned by %U:%G" /etc/ssh/*key.pub
Example result:
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root
If any "key.pub" file listed is not owned by root or not group owned by root or does not have permissions of "0644", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-62544r933745_fix)
At the command line, run the following commands for each returned file:
# chmod 644 <file>
# chown root:root <file>
# systemctl restart sshd.service