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

RHEL 9 must force a frequent session key renegotiation for SSH connections to the server.

DISA Rule

SV-257994r1045051_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-257994

Group Title

SRG-OS-000423-GPOS-00187

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255090

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000068 - Implement cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions.
• CCI-002418 - Protect the confidentiality and/or integrity of transmitted information.
• CCI-002421 - Implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure of information and/or detect changes to information during transmission.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 9 to force a frequent session key renegotiation for SSH connections to the server by adding or modifying the following line in the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" or in a file in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d":

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.

Vulnerability Number

V-257994

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255090

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.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551