The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.
An XCCDF Rule
Description
<VulnDiscussion>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.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>
- ID
- SV-204592r603261_rule
- Severity
- Medium
- References
- Updated
Remediation - Manual Procedure
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