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V-274048

CAT II (Medium)

Amazon Linux 2023 SSHD must not allow blank passwords.

Rule ID

SV-274048r1120132_rule

STIG

Amazon Linux 2023 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R3

CCIs

CCI-000766, CCI-000366

Discussion

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log on and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords must never be used in operational environments. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000106-GPOS-00053, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00229

Check Content

Verify Amazon Linux 2023 remote access using SSH prevents logging on with a blank password with the following command:

$ sudo grep -ir PermitEmptyPasswords /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:PermitEmptyPasswords no

If the "PermitEmptyPassword" keyword is set to "yes", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure Amazon Linux 2023 to prevent SSH users from logging on with blank passwords.

Edit the following line in "etc/ssh/sshd_config" or in a file in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d":

PermitEmptyPasswords no

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service