VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

The VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide (V1 R5) has 113 STIG checks. New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist?, CKL vs CKLB, and STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

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Severity

Version

V1 · R5

CurrentPublished Wed Sep 30 2026 What changed in V1R5

The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disconnect idle Secure Shell (SSH) sessions.

VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disconnect idle Secure Shell (SSH) sessions.

Description

Discussion Text

Terminating an idle session within a short time period reduces the window of opportunity for unauthorized personnel to take control of a management session enabled on a console or console port that has been left unattended.

New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist? and CKL vs CKLB.

Objective

V-256514

Rule

SV-256514r970703_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

PHTN-30-000038

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

At the command line, run the following command:

# sshd -T|&grep -i ClientAliveCountMax

Expected result:

ClientAliveCountMax 0

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

Navigate to and open:

/etc/ssh/sshd_config

Ensure the "ClientAliveCountMax" line is uncommented and set to the following:

ClientAliveCountMax 0

At the command line, run the following command:

# systemctl restart sshd.service

STIG check 37 of 113 in the VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS STIG checklist

← Previous · V-256513The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disconnect idle Secure Shell (SSH) sessions.Next · V-256515 →The Photon operating system "/var/log" directory must be owned by root.