STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 10 must not permit direct logins to the root account using remote access via Secure Shell (SSH).

DISA Rule

SV-281265r1184765_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-281265

Group Title

SRG-OS-000109-GPOS-00056

Rule Version

RHEL-10-700620

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-004045 - Require users to be individually authenticated before granting access to the shared accounts or resources.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 10 to prevent SSH users from logging on directly as root.

In "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d", create a drop-in file that will lexicographically precede 50-redhat.conf and add the following line:

PermitRootLogin no

Restart the SSH daemon with the following command for the settings to take effect:

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 10 remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" with the following command:

$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*permitrootlogin'
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/10-stig.conf:PermitRootLogin no

Verify the runtime setting with the following command:

$ sudo sshd -T | grep -i permitrootlogin
permitrootlogin no

If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is not set to "no" in a drop-in that lexicographically precedes 50-redhat.conf, or if no output is returned, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-281265

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-10-700620

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 10 remote access using SSH prevents users from logging on directly as "root" with the following command:

$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*permitrootlogin'
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/10-stig.conf:PermitRootLogin no

Verify the runtime setting with the following command:

$ sudo sshd -T | grep -i permitrootlogin
permitrootlogin no

If the "PermitRootLogin" keyword is not set to "no" in a drop-in that lexicographically precedes 50-redhat.conf, or if no output is returned, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5733