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4.2.7 Ensure SSH root login is disabled

Information

The PermitRootLogin parameter specifies if the root user can log in using ssh. The default is no.

Disallowing root logins over SSH requires system admins to authenticate using their own individual account, then escalating to root via sudo or su . This in turn limits opportunity for non-repudiation and provides a clear audit trail in the event of a security incident

Solution

Edit or create a file ending in *.conf in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/ directory or the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file and set the PermitRootLogin parameter as follows:

PermitRootLogin no

Run the following command to comment out any PermitRootLogin parameter entries in files ending in *.conf in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/ directory or the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file that include any setting other than no

# grep -Pi '^\h*PermitRootLogin\b' /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf | grep -Evi 'no' | while read -r l_out; do sed -ri "/^\s*PermitRootLogin\s+/s/^/# /" "$(awk -F: '{print $1}' <<< $l_out)";done

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/12705

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL

References: 800-53|AC-6, 800-53|AC-6(2), 800-53|AC-6(5), CSCv7|4.3

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 24e70e92833afea3ecf89128019c3392f0537c9715c96cb415ea7a8693ea85ef