RHEL 10 must be configured so that the Secure Shell (SSH) daemon does not allow Kerberos authentication.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-281255 | SRG-OS-000364-GPOS-00151 | RHEL-10-700520 | SV-281255r1184755_rule | 2026-03-11 | 1 |
Description
Kerberos authentication for SSH is often implemented using Generic Security Service Application Program Interface (GSSAPI). If Kerberos is enabled through SSH, the SSH daemon provides a means of access to the system's Kerberos implementation. Vulnerabilities in the system's Kerberos implementations may be subject to exploitation.
OpenSSH uses the first occurrence of a keyword it sees, and drop-in files are read in lexicographical order at the start of the configuration. Red Hat recommends using drop-in files rather than changing base configuration files.
ℹ️ Check
Verify RHEL 10 SSH daemons do not allow Kerberos authentication with the following command:
$ sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -dd 2>&1 | awk '/filename/ {print $4}' | tr -d '\r' | tr '\n' ' ' | xargs sudo grep -iH '^\s*kerberosauthentication'
/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/10-stig.conf:KerberosAuthentication no
Verify the runtime setting with the following command:
$ sudo sshd -T | grep -i kerberosauthentication
kerberosauthentication no
If the "KerberosAuthentication" keyword is not set to "no" in a drop-in that lexicographically precedes 50-redhat.conf, no output is returned, and the use of Kerberos authentication has not been documented with the information system security officer, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Configure RHEL 10 SSH daemons to not allow Kerberos authentication.
In "/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d", create a drop file that will lexicographically precede 50-redhat.conf and add the following line:
KerberosAuthentication no
Restart the SSH service with the following command for the changes to take effect:
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd.service