RHEL 8 SSH server must be configured to use only FIPS-validated key exchange algorithms.
An XCCDF Rule
Description
<VulnDiscussion>Without cryptographic integrity protections provided by FIPS-validated cryptographic algorithms, information can be viewed and altered by unauthorized users without detection. RHEL 8 incorporates system-wide crypto policies by default. The SSH configuration file has no effect on the ciphers, MACs, or algorithms unless specifically defined in the /etc/sysconfig/sshd file. The employed algorithms can be viewed in the /etc/crypto-policies/back-ends/opensshserver.config file. The system will attempt to use the first algorithm presented by the client that matches the server list. Listing the values "strongest to weakest" is a method to ensure the use of the strongest algorithm available to secure the SSH connection.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>
- ID
- SV-255924r1017372_rule
- Severity
- Medium
- References
- Updated
Remediation - Manual Procedure
Configure the SSH server to use only FIPS-validated key exchange algorithms by adding or modifying the following line in "/etc/crypto-policies/back-ends/opensshserver.config":
-oKexAlgorithms=ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256,diffie-hellman-group14-sha256,diffie-hellman-group16-sha512,diffie-hellman-group18-sha512
A reboot is required for the changes to take effect.