SV-281264r1268229: RHEL 10 must be configured so that SSHD does not allow blank passwords. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

RHEL 10 must be configured so that SSHD does not allow blank passwords.

Description

Discussion Text

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments. OpenSSH uses the first occurrence of a keyword it sees, and drop-in files are read in lexicographical order at the start of the configuration. Red Hat recommends using drop-in files rather than changing base configuration files. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000106-GPOS-00053, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00229

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000766

References

DPMS Target Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 DISA DPMS Target Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 5733

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

#!/bin/bash
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.rhel10os:def:281264
# RHEL 10 must be configured so that SSHD does not allow blank passwords.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# /etc/ssh/sshd_config or /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*:PermitEmptyPasswords == no
# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_1() {
  ( (sed -En 's/^(?i)\s*PermitEmptyPasswords\s+(\w+)$/\1/p' '/etc/ssh/sshd_config') | grep -Pq '^(no|"no")$' ) || ( (grep -rhP --include='*' '^(?i)\s*PermitEmptyPasswords\s+(\w+)$' '/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d' | sed -En 's/^(?i)\s*PermitEmptyPasswords\s+(\w+)$/\1/p') | grep -Pq '^(no|"no")$' )
}

if test_1; then
  echo "PASS"
else
  echo "FAIL"
fi

Assessment Script Powered by AISandbox-executed

A standalone Shell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked and actually executed in an isolated sandbox (not the real system this checks) — confirmed to run without errors.

#!/bin/sh
# This script implements OVAL definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.rhel10os:def:281264

if [ ! -f "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" ] && [ ! -L "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if [ ! -f "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d" ] && [ ! -L "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
for file in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*; do
    if [ -f "$file" ]; then
        if grep -qE "^ *(no|\"no\")$" "$file"; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
    fi
done
if grep -qE "^ *(no|\"no\")$" /etc/ssh/sshd_config; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
echo "FAIL"; exit 1

Remediation

Configure RHEL 10 to prevent SSH users from logging on with blank passwords. 

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

PermitEmptyPasswords no

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

$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service