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V-215287

CAT II (Medium)

On AIX, the SSH server must not permit root logins using remote access programs.

Rule ID

SV-215287r991589_rule

STIG

IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R2

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

Permitting direct root login reduces auditable information about who ran privileged commands on the system and also allows direct attack attempts on root's password.

Check Content

Determine if the SSH daemon is configured to disable root logins:
# grep -iE "PermitRootLogin[[:blank:]]*no" /etc/ssh/sshd_config | grep -v \#

If the above command displays a line, the root login is disabled.

If the root login is not disabled, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Edit the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to have the following line and save the change: 
PermitRootLogin no

Restart SSH daemon:
# stopsrc -s sshd
# startsrc -s sshd