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V-221854

CAT II (Medium)

The Oracle Linux operating system must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.

Rule ID

SV-221854r991589_rule

STIG

Oracle Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R5

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of security is gained by extending the policy of not logging on directly as root. In addition, logging on with a user-specific account provides individual accountability of actions performed on the system.

Check Content

Verify remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as root.

Check that SSH prevents users from logging on directly as root with the following command:

# grep -i permitrootlogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config
PermitRootLogin no

If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure SSH to stop users from logging on remotely as the root user.

Edit the appropriate "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to uncomment or add the line for the "PermitRootLogin" keyword and set its value to "no" (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):

PermitRootLogin no

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