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 protect sshd configuration from unauthorized access.

VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Photon operating system must protect sshd configuration from unauthorized access.

Description

Discussion Text

The "sshd_config" file contains all the configuration items for sshd. Incorrect or malicious configuration of sshd can allow unauthorized access to the system, insecure communication, limited forensic trail, etc.

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

Objective

V-256581

Rule

SV-256581r1268251_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

PHTN-30-000112

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

At the command line, run the following command:

# stat -c "%n permissions are %a and owned by %U:%G" /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Expected result:

/etc/ssh/sshd_config permissions are 600 and owned by root:root

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

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

At the command line, run the following commands:

# chmod 600 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# chown root:root /etc/ssh/sshd_config

STIG check 104 of 113 in the VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS STIG checklist

← Previous · V-256580The Photon operating system must protect all boot configuration files from unauthorized modification.Next · V-256582 →The Photon operating system must protect all "sysctl" configuration files from unauthorized access.