STIGQter: STIG Summary: Oracle Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 6 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

OL 9 SSHD must accept public key authentication.

DISA Rule

SV-271721r1091875_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-271721

Group Title

SRG-OS-000105-GPOS-00052

Rule Version

OL09-00-002359

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000765 - Implement multifactor authentication for network access to privileged accounts.
• CCI-000766 - Implement multifactor authentication for network access to non-privileged accounts.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure OL 9 to accept public key authentication by adding or modifying the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config".

PubkeyAuthentication yes

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify that OL 9 SSH daemon accepts public key encryption with the following command:

$ sudo grep -i PubkeyAuthentication /etc/ssh/sshd_config
PubkeyAuthentication yes

If "PubkeyAuthentication" is set to no, the line is commented out, or the line is missing, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-271721

Documentable

False

Rule Version

OL09-00-002359

Severity Override Guidance

Verify that OL 9 SSH daemon accepts public key encryption with the following command:

$ sudo grep -i PubkeyAuthentication /etc/ssh/sshd_config
PubkeyAuthentication yes

If "PubkeyAuthentication" is set to no, the line is commented out, or the line is missing, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5680