STIGQter: STIG Summary: Amazon Linux 2023 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 4 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

Amazon Linux 2023 SSHD must accept public key authentication.

DISA Rule

SV-274047r1120129_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-274047

Group Title

SRG-OS-000105-GPOS-00052

Rule Version

AZLX-23-001230

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 Amazon Linux 2023 to use public key authentication for SSHD by adding or modifying the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" or in a file in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d".

PubkeyAuthentication yes

Restart the SSH daemon for the settings to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify Amazon Linux 2023 is configured so that the SSH daemon accepts public key encryption with the following command:

$ sudo grep -ir PubkeyAuthentication /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:#PubkeyAuthentication yes
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/90-PubkeyAuth: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-274047

Documentable

False

Rule Version

AZLX-23-001230

Severity Override Guidance

Verify Amazon Linux 2023 is configured so that the SSH daemon accepts public key encryption with the following command:

$ sudo grep -ir PubkeyAuthentication /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/
/etc/ssh/sshd_config:#PubkeyAuthentication yes
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/90-PubkeyAuth: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

5700