The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disallow authentication with an empty password.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-256552 | PHTN-30-000083 | SV-256552r991589_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| Blank passwords are one of the first things an attacker checks for when probing a system. Even is the user somehow has a blank password on the operating system, sshd must not allow that user to log in. |
| STIG | Date |
| VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-12-16 |
Details
| Check Text (C-60227r887328_chk) |
| At the command line, run the following command: # sshd -T|&grep -i PermitEmptyPasswords Expected result: PermitEmptyPasswords no If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-60170r887329_fix) |
| Navigate to and open: /etc/ssh/sshd_config Ensure the "PermitEmptyPasswords" line is uncommented and set to the following: PermitEmptyPasswords no At the command line, run the following command: # systemctl restart sshd.service |