AlmaLinux OS 9 SSHD must not allow blank passwords.

An XCCDF Rule

Description

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log on and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000106-GPOS-00053, SRG-OS-000108-GPOS-00055

ID: SV-269374r1050257_rule
Version: ALMA-09-034120
Severity: Medium
References: CCI-000766
Updated: about 2 months ago

Remediation Templates

Configure the SSH daemon to prevent users logging in with blank passwords.

Add the following line to "/etc/ssh/sshd_config", or uncomment the line and set the value to "yes":

PermitEmptyPasswords no
Alternatively, add the setting to an include file if the line "Include /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf" is found at the top of the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file:

$ cat << EOF | tee /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/emptypasswords.conf
PermitEmptyPasswords no
EOF

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:

$ systemctl restart sshd.service

AlmaLinux OS 9 SSHD must not allow blank passwords.

Description

Remediation Templates

A Manual Procedure