The SSH daemon must not allow host-based authentication.

From VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Part of SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-77685r1_rule The SSH daemon must not allow host-based authentication.

Vulnerability discussion

SSH trust relationships mean a compromise on one host can allow an attacker to move trivially to other hosts.

Check content

To verify how the SSH daemon's "HostbasedAuthentication" option is set, run the following command: # grep -i "^HostbasedAuthentication" /etc/ssh/sshd_config If there is no output or the output is not exactly "HostbasedAuthentication no", this is a finding.

Fix text

SSH's cryptographic host-based authentication is more secure than ".rhosts" authentication, since hosts are cryptographically authenticated. However, it is not recommended that hosts unilaterally trust one another, even within an organization. Add or correct the following line in "/etc/ssh/sshd_config": HostbasedAuthentication no

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