Description
The root user should never be allowed to login to a
system directly over a network.
To disable root login via SSH, add or correct the following line in
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf:
Rationale
Even though the communications channel may be encrypted, an additional layer of
security is gained by extending the policy of not logging directly on as root.
In addition, logging in with a user-specific account provides individual
accountability of actions performed on the system and also helps to minimize
direct attack attempts on root’s password.
Shell script
The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.
#!/bin/bash
# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ]; then
mkdir -p /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
touch /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf
LC_ALL=C sed -i "/^\s*PermitRootLogin\s\+/Id" "/etc/ssh/sshd_config"
LC_ALL=C sed -i "/^\s*PermitRootLogin\s\+/Id" "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d"/*.conf
if [ -e "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf" ] ; then
LC_ALL=C sed -i "/^\s*PermitRootLogin\s\+/Id" "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf"
else
touch "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf"
fi
# make sure file has newline at the end
sed -i -e '$a\' "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf"
cp "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf" "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf.bak"
# Insert at the beginning of the file
printf '%s\n' "PermitRootLogin no" > "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf"
cat "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf.bak" >> "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf"
# Clean up after ourselves.
rm "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf.bak"
else
>&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi
Ansible playbook
The following playbook can be run with Ansible to remediate the issue.
- name: Disable SSH Root Login
block:
- name: Deduplicate values from /etc/ssh/sshd_config
lineinfile:
path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
create: false
regexp: (?i)^\s*{{ "PermitRootLogin"| regex_escape }}\s+
state: absent
- name: Check if /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d exists
stat:
path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
register: _etc_ssh_sshd_config_d_exists
- name: Check if the parameter PermitRootLogin is present in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
find:
paths: /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
recurse: 'yes'
follow: 'no'
contains: (?i)^\s*{{ "PermitRootLogin"| regex_escape }}\s+
register: _etc_ssh_sshd_config_d_has_parameter
when: _etc_ssh_sshd_config_d_exists.stat.isdir is defined and _etc_ssh_sshd_config_d_exists.stat.isdir
- name: Remove parameter from files in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
lineinfile:
path: '{{ item.path }}'
create: false
regexp: (?i)^\s*{{ "PermitRootLogin"| regex_escape }}\s+
state: absent
with_items: '{{ _etc_ssh_sshd_config_d_has_parameter.files }}'
when: _etc_ssh_sshd_config_d_has_parameter.matched
- name: Insert correct line to /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf
lineinfile:
path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/00-complianceascode-hardening.conf
create: true
regexp: (?i)^\s*{{ "PermitRootLogin"| regex_escape }}\s+
line: PermitRootLogin no
state: present
insertbefore: BOF
validate: /usr/sbin/sshd -t -f %s
when: ansible_virtualization_type not in ["docker", "lxc", "openvz", "podman", "container"]
tags:
- CJIS-5.5.6
- NIST-800-171-3.1.1
- NIST-800-171-3.1.5
- NIST-800-53-AC-17(a)
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(2)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(a)
- NIST-800-53-CM-7(b)
- NIST-800-53-IA-2
- NIST-800-53-IA-2(5)
- PCI-DSS-Req-2.2.4
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- sshd_disable_root_login
