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 public host key files must have mode 0644 or less permissive.

DISA Rule

SV-258001r991589_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258001

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255125

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Change the mode of public host key files under "/etc/ssh" to "0644" with the following command:

$ sudo chmod 0644 /etc/ssh/*key.pub

Restart the SSH daemon for the changes to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify the SSH public host key files have a mode of "0644" or less permissive with the following command:

Note: SSH public key files may be found in other directories on the system depending on the installation.

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/ssh/*.pub

644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub

If any key.pub file has a mode more permissive than "0644", this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-258001

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-255125

Severity Override Guidance

Verify the SSH public host key files have a mode of "0644" or less permissive with the following command:

Note: SSH public key files may be found in other directories on the system depending on the installation.

$ sudo stat -c "%a %n" /etc/ssh/*.pub

644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
644 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub

If any key.pub file has a mode more permissive than "0644", this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551