There must be no ".shosts" files on The TOSS operating system.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-252939 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | TOSS-04-010370 | SV-252939r991589_rule | 2026-02-19 | 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 TOSS with the following command:
$ sudo find / -name '*.shosts'
If any ."shosts" files are found, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Remove any found ."shosts" files from the system.
$ sudo rm /[path]/[to]/[file]/.shosts