STIGQter STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 8 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 8 must not permit direct logons to the root account using remote access via SSH.

DISA Rule

SV-230296r1069322_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-230296

Group Title

SRG-OS-000109-GPOS-00056

Rule Version

RHEL-08-010550

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 8 to stop users from logging on remotely as the "root" user via SSH.

Edit the appropriate "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file to uncomment or add the line for the "PermitRootLogin" keyword and set its value to "no":

PermitRootLogin no

The SSH daemon must be restarted for the changes to take effect. To restart the SSH daemon, run the following command:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root".

Check that SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" 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*permitrootlogin'

PermitRootLogin no

If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to any value other than "no", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.

If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-230296

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-08-010550

Severity Override Guidance

Verify remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root".

Check that SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" 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*permitrootlogin'

PermitRootLogin no

If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is set to any value other than "no", is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.

If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

2921