Direct root account login must not be permitted for SSH access.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-216117 | SRG-OS-000480 | SOL-11.1-040360 | SV-216117r959010_rule | 2026-02-19 | 3 |
Description
The system should not allow users to log in as the root user directly, as audited actions would be non-attributable to a specific user.
ℹ️ Check
Determine if root login is disabled for the SSH service.
# grep "^PermitRootLogin" /etc/ssh/sshd_config
If the output of this command is not:
PermitRootLogin no
this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
The root role is required.
Modify the sshd_config file
# pfedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Locate the line containing:
PermitRootLogin
Change it to:
PermitRootLogin no
Restart the SSH service.
# svcadm restart svc:/network/ssh