STIGQter: STIG Summary: Canonical Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 9 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must not allow unattended or automatic login via SSH.

DISA Rule

SV-260526r1208678_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-260526

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00229

Rule Version

UBTU-22-255025

Severity

CAT I

CCI(s)

• CCI-000366 - Implement the security configuration settings.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure the SSH server to not allow unattended or automatic login to the system.

Add or modify the following lines in the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file:

PermitEmptyPasswords no
PermitUserEnvironment no

Restart SSH for the changes to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart ssh

Check Contents

Verify that unattended or automatic login via SSH is disabled by using the following command:

$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iEH '(permit(.*?)(passwords|environment))'
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:PermitEmptyPasswords no
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:PermitUserEnvironment no

If "PermitEmptyPasswords" and "PermitUserEnvironment" are not set to "no", are commented out, are missing, or conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-260526

Documentable

False

Rule Version

UBTU-22-255025

Severity Override Guidance

Verify that unattended or automatic login via SSH is disabled by using the following command:

$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iEH '(permit(.*?)(passwords|environment))'
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:PermitEmptyPasswords no
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:PermitUserEnvironment no

If "PermitEmptyPasswords" and "PermitUserEnvironment" are not set to "no", are commented out, are missing, or conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5594