STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 9 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 9 must securely compare internal information system clocks at least every 24 hours.

DISA Rule

SV-257945r1038944_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-257945

Group Title

SRG-OS-000355-GPOS-00143

Rule Version

RHEL-09-252020

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-001890 - Record time stamps for audit records that use Coordinated Universal Time, have a fixed local time offset from Coordinated Universal Time, or that include the local time offset as part of the time stamp.
• CCI-004923 - Compare the internal system clocks on an organization-defined frequency with organization-defined authoritative time source.
• CCI-004926 - Synchronize the internal system clocks to the authoritative time source when the time difference is greater than organization-defined time period.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 9 to securely compare internal information system clocks at least every 24 hours with an NTP server by adding/modifying the following line in the /etc/chrony.conf file.

server [ntp.server.name] iburst maxpoll 16

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 9 is securely comparing internal information system clocks at least every 24 hours with an NTP server with the following commands:

$ sudo grep maxpoll /etc/chrony.conf

server 0.us.pool.ntp.mil iburst maxpoll 16

If the "maxpoll" option is set to a number greater than 16 or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Verify the "chrony.conf" file is configured to an authoritative DOD time source by running the following command:

$ sudo grep -i server /etc/chrony.conf
server 0.us.pool.ntp.mil

If the parameter "server" is not set or is not set to an authoritative DOD time source, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-257945

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-252020

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 9 is securely comparing internal information system clocks at least every 24 hours with an NTP server with the following commands:

$ sudo grep maxpoll /etc/chrony.conf

server 0.us.pool.ntp.mil iburst maxpoll 16

If the "maxpoll" option is set to a number greater than 16 or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Verify the "chrony.conf" file is configured to an authoritative DOD time source by running the following command:

$ sudo grep -i server /etc/chrony.conf
server 0.us.pool.ntp.mil

If the parameter "server" is not set or is not set to an authoritative DOD time source, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551