Re: About sshd(8) remote root login feature & Anaconda UI support

On Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 05:27:13PM +0000, P J P wrote:

That's certainly possible if they're using vnc to setup the system and
reboot before setting up keys manually. Most providers also offer
console access to systems these days, but it is certainly possible to
end with only ssh access to the box.


I don't like the idea of switching options in the background based on
what combination of users, checkboxes, etc. have been set. That's going
to end up confusing people or leaving the setup in an unexpected state.0

Switching root to key only really doesn't help much. All that does is
move the attack to the user account (assuming they are in wheel).
Disabling password login for all accounts is what would make it secure.

But the problem with that is that there is no good way to get the
authorized key onto the system if they do need to login via ssh. You can
now do this in kickstart using the new sshkey command.

A possible alternative is:

1. Stronger root password. We really should switch from a minimum length
of 6 to 8 anyway.

2. Don't allow weak root passwords at all. Remove the double done click
to bypass it. This will annoy me while installing vms repeatedly, but it
is an improvement while still allowing remote access.

3. And maybe drop root login completely and move to user+strong pw+wheel

This would increase security, a bit, and still let users connect to a
fresh system without console access.

-- 
Brian C. Lane | Anaconda Team | IRC: bcl #anaconda | Port Orchard, WA (PST8PDT)