RHEL-10-700610 RHEL 10 must be configured so that SSHD does not allow blank passwords.
All changes in this version
Maps to IA-2(2) via CCI-000766
Title
RHEL 10 must be configured so that SSHD does not allow blank passwords.
Control
Verify RHEL 10 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' /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/10-stig.conf:PermitEmptyPasswords no Verify the runtime setting with the following command: $ sudo sshd -T | grep -i permitemptypasswords permitemptypasswords no If the "PermitEmptyPasswords" keyword is not set to "no" in a drop-in that lexicographically precedes 50-redhat.conf, or if no output is returned, this is a finding.
Discussion
If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments. OpenSSH uses the first occurrence of a keyword it sees, and drop-in files are read in lexicographical order at the start of the configuration. Red Hat recommends using drop-in files rather than changing base configuration files. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000106-GPOS-00053, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00229
Related controls
CCI-000766
Fix
Configure RHEL 10 to prevent SSH users from logging on with blank passwords. In "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d", create a drop file that will lexicographically precede 50-redhat.conf and add the following line: PermitEmptyPasswords no Restart the SSH daemon with the following command for the settings to take effect: $ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service