OL 9 SSHD must not allow blank passwords.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-271706 | OL09-00-002343 | SV-271706r1091830_rule | High |
| 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. |
| STIG | Date |
| Oracle Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-08 |
Details
| Check Text (C-75756r1091828_chk) |
| Verify that OL 9 remote access using SSH prevents logging on with a blank password with the following command: $ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*permitemptypasswords' PermitEmptyPasswords no If the "PermitEmptyPasswords" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-75663r1091829_fix) |
| Configure OL 9 to prevent SSH users from logging on with blank passwords by editing the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" or in a file in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d": PermitEmptyPasswords no Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect: $ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service |