The Photon operating system must configure Secure Shell (SSH) to limit the number of allowed login attempts per connection.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258882 | PHTN-40-000219 | SV-258882r991589_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| By setting the login attempt limit to a low value, an attacker will be forced to reconnect frequently, which severely limits the speed and effectiveness of brute-force attacks. |
| STIG | Date |
| VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-07-11 |
Details
| Check Text (C-62622r933705_chk) |
| At the command line, run the following command to verify the running configuration of sshd: # sshd -T|&grep -i MaxAuthTries Example result: maxauthtries 6 If "MaxAuthTries" is not set to "6", this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-62531r933706_fix) |
| Navigate to and open: /etc/ssh/sshd_config Ensure the "MaxAuthTries" line is uncommented and set to the following: MaxAuthTries 6 At the command line, run the following command: # systemctl restart sshd.service |