There must be no .shosts files on RHEL 9.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| high | V-257956 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | RHEL-09-252075 | SV-257956r991589_rule | 2026-02-05 | 2 |
Description
The .shosts files are used to configure host-based authentication for individual users or the system via SSH. Host-based authentication is not sufficient for preventing unauthorized access to the system, as it does not require interactive identification and authentication of a connection request, or for the use of two-factor authentication.
ℹ️ Check
Verify there are no ".shosts" files on RHEL 9 with the following command:
$ sudo find / -name .shosts
If a ".shosts" file is found, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Remove any found ".shosts" files from the system.
$ sudo rm /[path]/[to]/[file]/.shosts