Skip to content
ATO Pathways
Log In
Overview
Search
Catalogs
SCAP
OSCAL
Catalogs
Profiles
Documents
References
Knowledge Base
Platform Documentation
Compliance Dictionary
Platform Changelog
About
Catalogs
XCCDF
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide
SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227
RHEL 8 must ensure the SSH server uses strong entropy.
RHEL 8 must ensure the SSH server uses strong entropy.
An XCCDF Rule
Details
Profiles
Prose
RHEL 8 must ensure the SSH server uses strong entropy.
Low Severity
<VulnDiscussion>The most important characteristic of a random number generator is its randomness, namely its ability to deliver random numbers that are impossible to predict. Entropy in computer security is associated with the unpredictability of a source of randomness. The random source with high entropy tends to achieve a uniform distribution of random values. Random number generators are one of the most important building blocks of cryptosystems. The SSH implementation in RHEL8 uses the OPENSSL library, which does not use high-entropy sources by default. By using the SSH_USE_STRONG_RNG environment variable the OPENSSL random generator is reseeded from /dev/random. This setting is not recommended on computers without the hardware random generator because insufficient entropy causes the connection to be blocked until enough entropy is available.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>