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

RHEL 9 SSH private host key files must have mode 0600 or less permissive.

DISA Rule

SV-258000r1208772_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258000

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255120

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure the mode of SSH private host key files under "/etc/ssh" to "0600" with the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host*key

Restart the SSH daemon for the changes to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify the SSH private host key files have a mode of "0600" or less permissive with the following command:

$ stat -c "%a %n" /etc/ssh/*_key

600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key

If any private host key file has a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-258000

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255120

Severity Override Guidance

Verify the SSH private host key files have a mode of "0600" or less permissive with the following command:

$ stat -c "%a %n" /etc/ssh/*_key

600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key

If any private host key file has a mode more permissive than "0600", this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551