AlmaLinux OS 9 SSH daemon must not allow known hosts authentication.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-269267 | ALMA-09-021140 | SV-269267r1050149_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| Configuring the IgnoreUserKnownHosts setting for the SSH daemon provides additional assurance that remote login via SSH will require a password, even in the event of misconfiguration elsewhere. |
| STIG | Date |
| CloudLinux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-22 |
Details
| Check Text (C-73298r1048177_chk) |
| Verify the SSH daemon does not allow known hosts authentication with the following command: $ sshd -T | grep ignoreuserknownhosts ignoreuserknownhosts yes If the value is returned as "no", this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-73199r1048178_fix) |
| Configure the SSH daemon to not allow known hosts authentication. Add the following line to "/etc/ssh/sshd_config", or uncomment the line and set the value to "yes": IgnoreUserKnownHosts yes 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: $ echo 'IgnoreUserKnownHosts yes' > /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/40-knownhosts.conf Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect: $ systemctl restart sshd.service |