The Photon operating system must be configured to protect the Secure Shell (SSH) public host key from unauthorized modification.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258895 | PHTN-40-000233 | SV-258895r991589_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| If a public host key file is modified by an unauthorized user, the SSH service may be compromised. |
| STIG | Date |
| VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-07-11 |
Details
| Check Text (C-62635r933744_chk) |
| At the command line, run the following command: # stat -c "%n permissions are %a and owned by %U:%G" /etc/ssh/*key.pub Example result: /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub permissions are 644 and owned by root:root If any "key.pub" file listed is not owned by root or not group owned by root or does not have permissions of "0644", this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-62544r933745_fix) |
| At the command line, run the following commands for each returned file: # chmod 644 <file> # chown root:root <file> # systemctl restart sshd.service |