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Showing SKILL.md
| name | cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-3-22 |
| description | Ensure SSH MaxStartups is configured |
| category | cis-networking |
| version | 2.0.0 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["cis","ubuntu","linux","ubuntu-16.04","ssh","remote-access"] |
| cis_id | 5.3.22 |
| cis_benchmark | CIS Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS Benchmark v2.0.0 |
| tech_stack | ["ubuntu","linux"] |
| cwe_ids | [] |
| chains_with | [] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {} |
The MaxStartups parameter specifies the maximum number of concurrent unauthenticated connections to the SSH daemon.
To protect a system from denial of service due to a large number of pending authentication connection attempts, use the rate limiting function of MaxStartups to protect availability of sshd logins and prevent overwhelming the daemon.
Run the following command and verify that output MaxStartups is 10:30:60 or more restrictive:
sshd -T -C user=root -C host="$(hostname)" -C addr="$(grep $(hostname) /etc/hosts | awk '{print $1}')" | grep -i maxstartups
maxstartups 10:30:60
Run the following command and verify the output:
grep -Ei '^\s*maxstartups\s+(((1[1-9]|[1-9][0-9][0-9]+):([0-9]+):([0-9]+))|(([0-9]+):(3[1-9]|[4-9][0-9]|[1-9][0-9][0-9]+):([0-9]+))|(([0-9]+):([0-9]+):(6[1-9]|[7-9][0-9]|[1-9][0-9][0-9]+)))' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Nothing should be returned.
Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file to set the parameter as follows:
maxstartups 10:30:60
MaxStartups 10:30:100
Version 7
5.1 Establish Secure Configurations - Maintain documented, standard security configuration standards for all authorized operating systems and software.
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