STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The Photon operating system must terminate idle Secure Shell (SSH) sessions.

DISA Rule

SV-258867r970703_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258867

Group Title

SRG-OS-000163-GPOS-00072

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000203

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-001133 - Terminate the network connection associated with a communications session at the end of the session or after an organization-defined time period of inactivity.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Navigate to and open:

/etc/ssh/sshd_config

Ensure the "ClientAliveCountMax" line is uncommented and set to the following:

ClientAliveCountMax 0

At the command line, run the following command:

# systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

At the command line, run the following command to verify the running configuration of sshd:

# sshd -T|&grep -i ClientAliveCountMax

Expected result:

clientalivecountmax 0

If "ClientAliveCountMax" is not set to "0", this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-258867

Documentable

False

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000203

Severity Override Guidance

At the command line, run the following command to verify the running configuration of sshd:

# sshd -T|&grep -i ClientAliveCountMax

Expected result:

clientalivecountmax 0

If "ClientAliveCountMax" is not set to "0", this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5569