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V-204600

CAT II (Medium)

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.

Rule ID

SV-204600r991589_rule

STIG

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R15

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

If other users have access to modify user-specific SSH configuration files, they may be able to log on to the system as another user.

Check Content

Verify the SSH daemon performs strict mode checking of home directory configuration files.

The location of the "sshd_config" file may vary if a different daemon is in use.

Inspect the "sshd_config" file with the following command:

# grep -i strictmodes /etc/ssh/sshd_config

StrictModes yes

If "StrictModes" is set to "no", is missing, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Uncomment the "StrictModes" keyword in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" (this file may be named differently or be in a different location if using a version of SSH that is provided by a third-party vendor) and set the value to "yes":

StrictModes yes

The SSH service must be restarted for changes to take effect.