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

RHEL 8 must force a frequent session key renegotiation for SSH connections to the server.

DISA Rule

SV-230527r1017288_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-230527

Group Title

SRG-OS-000033-GPOS-00014

Rule Version

RHEL-08-040161

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000068 - Implement cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure the system to force a frequent session key renegotiation for SSH connections to the server by add or modifying the following line in the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file:

RekeyLimit 1G 1h

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect.

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify the SSH server is configured to force frequent session key renegotiation 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*rekeylimit'

RekeyLimit 1G 1h

If "RekeyLimit" does not have a maximum data amount and maximum time defined, is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding.

If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-230527

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-08-040161

Severity Override Guidance

Verify the SSH server is configured to force frequent session key renegotiation 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*rekeylimit'

RekeyLimit 1G 1h

If "RekeyLimit" does not have a maximum data amount and maximum time defined, 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