DISA STIGS Viewer

The AlmaLinux OS 9 SSH server configuration file must be group-owned by root.

Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-269261 ALMA-09-020480 SV-269261r1050143_rule   Medium
Description
Service configuration files enable or disable features of their respective services, which if configured incorrectly, can lead to insecure and vulnerable configurations. Therefore, service configuration files must be owned by the correct group to prevent unauthorized changes.
STIG Date
CloudLinux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2025-05-22

Details

Check Text (C-73292r1048159_chk)
Verify the group ownership of "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" and any "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf" files with the following command:

$ find /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d -exec stat -c "%G %n" {} \;

root /etc/ssh/sshd_config
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/40-stig.conf
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-redhat.conf
root /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/clientalive.conf

If any of the files do not have a group owner of "root", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-73193r1048160_fix)
Configure the SSHD config files to be group-owned by root with the following command:

$ chgrp root /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf