Information
The HostbasedAuthenticationparameter specifies if authentication is allowed through trusted hosts via the user of .rhosts, or /etc/hosts.equiv, along with successful public key client host authentication. This option only applies to SSH Protocol Version 2.
Rationale:
Even though the .rhostsfiles are ineffective if support is disabled in /etc/pam.conf, disabling the ability to use .rhostsfiles in SSH provides an additional layer of protection .
Solution
Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file to set the parameter as follows:
HostbasedAuthentication no
Default Value:
HostbasedAuthentication no