RHEL 9 must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.
An XCCDF Rule
Description
Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of security is gained by extending the policy of not logging directly on as root. In addition, logging in with a user-specific account provides individual accountability of actions performed on the system and also helps to minimize direct attack attempts on root's password. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000109-GPOS-00056, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227
- ID
- SV-257985r1045028_rule
- Version
- RHEL-09-255045
- Severity
- Medium
- References
- Updated
Remediation Templates
A Manual Procedure
To configure the system to prevent SSH users from logging on directly as root add or modify the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" or in a file in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d".
PermitRootLogin no
Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service