ALMA-09-034120 - AlmaLinux OS 9 SSHD must not allow blank passwords.

Information

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log on and run commands with the privileges of that account.

Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.

Satisfies: SRG-OS-000106-GPOS-00053, SRG-OS-000108-GPOS-00055

Solution

Configure the SSH daemon to prevent users logging in with blank passwords.

Add the following line to "/etc/ssh/sshd_config", or uncomment the line and set the value to "yes":

PermitEmptyPasswords no

Alternatively, add the setting to an include file if the line "Include /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf" is found at the top of the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file:

$ cat << EOF | tee /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/emptypasswords.conf
PermitEmptyPasswords no
EOF

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:

$ systemctl restart sshd.service

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_CL_AlmaLinux_OS_9_V1R1_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-2(2), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000766, Rule-ID|SV-269374r1050257_rule, STIG-ID|ALMA-09-034120, Vuln-ID|V-269374

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: ca0af55eeb012cc683f4bfbcb62e79e6332ffa660b07c8d9cea4dc8369c7be91