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

RHEL 9 SSHD must accept public key authentication.

DISA Rule

SV-257983r1045024_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-257983

Group Title

SRG-OS-000105-GPOS-00052

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255035

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000765 - Implement multifactor authentication for network access to privileged accounts.
• CCI-000766 - Implement multifactor authentication for network access to non-privileged accounts.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

To configure the system, add or modify the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" or in a file in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d".

PubkeyAuthentication yes

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Note: If the system administrator demonstrates the use of an approved alternate multifactor authentication method, this requirement is Not Applicable.

Verify that RHEL 9 SSH daemon accepts public key encryption 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*pubkeyauthentication'

PubkeyAuthentication yes

If "PubkeyAuthentication" is set to no, the line is commented out, or the line is missing, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-257983

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255035

Severity Override Guidance

Note: If the system administrator demonstrates the use of an approved alternate multifactor authentication method, this requirement is Not Applicable.

Verify that RHEL 9 SSH daemon accepts public key encryption 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*pubkeyauthentication'

PubkeyAuthentication yes

If "PubkeyAuthentication" is set to no, the line is commented out, or the line is missing, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551