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Verify Ownership on SSH Server Private *_key Key Files

An XCCDF Rule

Description

SSH server private keys, files that match the /etc/ssh/*_key glob, must be owned by root user.

Rationale

If an unauthorized user obtains the private SSH host key file, the host could be impersonated.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_file_ownership_sshd_private_key
Severity
Medium
References
Updated

Remediation Templates

A Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if rpm --quiet -q kernel; then
find -L /etc/ssh/ -maxdepth 1 -type f ! -uid 0 -regextype posix-extended -regex '^.*_key$' -exec chown -L 0 {} \;

else
    >&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi

An Ansible Snippet

- name: Gather the package facts
  package_facts:
    manager: auto
  tags:
  - configure_strategy
  - file_ownership_sshd_private_key