The ESXi host Secure Shell (SSH) daemon must not allow host-based authentication.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-256386 | SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000 | ESXI-70-000013 | SV-256386r959010_rule | 2025-02-11 | 1 |
| Description |
|---|
| SSH trust relationships mean a compromise on one host can allow an attacker to move trivially to other hosts. SSH's cryptographic host-based authentication is more secure than ".rhosts" authentication because hosts are cryptographically authenticated. However, it is not recommended that hosts unilaterally trust one another, even within an organization. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| From an ESXi shell, run the following command: # /usr/lib/vmware/openssh/bin/sshd -T|grep hostbasedauthentication Expected result: hostbasedauthentication no If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| From an ESXi shell, add or correct the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config": HostbasedAuthentication no |