raingloom writes: > On Mon, 23 Nov 2020 03:32:08 +0100 > Taylan Kammer wrote: > >> On 23.11.2020 00:20, Christopher Lemmer Webber wrote: >> > Okay, I just realized I left a friend vulnerable by guiding them >> > through a Guix graphical install and telling them it would give >> > them a decent setup. They turned on openssh support. >> > >> > Then I realized their config had password-authentication? on. >> > >> > That's unacceptable. We need to change this default. This is >> > known to leave users open to attack, and selecting a password >> > secure enough against brute forcing is fairly difficult, much more >> > difficult than only allowing entry by keys. Plus, few >> > distributions do what we're doing anymore, precisely because of >> > wanting to be secure by default. >> > >> > Yes, I know some people want password authentication on as part of a >> > bootstrapping process. Fine... those users know to put it on. >> > Let's not leave our users open to attack by default though. >> > >> > Happy to produce a patch and change the documentation, but I'd like >> > to hear that we have consensus to make this change. But we should, >> > because otherwise else I think we're going to hurt users. >> >> I think most ideal would be if the user is asked the following two >> questions, with a short explanation of what each means: >> >> - Allow root login via SSH? >> >> - Allow password authentication in SSH? >> >> (I think Debian does this.) >> >> Because as you say, on one hand password authentication in SSH can be >> a security risk. But on the other hand many machines never have >> their SSH port exposed to the Internet, and the intranet is assumed >> to be safe. In those cases it would be an annoyance to have to enable >> it manually. >> >> Both points apply to direct root login as well I think. >> >> Allowing password authentication but disabling root login might also >> be considered safe enough on machines exposed to the Internet, >> because the attacker needs to guess the username as well. Only >> presents a small increase in complexity for the attacker though. >> >> >> - Taylan >> >> >> > > Most people won't know why allowing password authentication is > unsecure. Either it should be worded differently, have a warning, or > not be an option. > > Same goes doubly so for allowing root login. Agreed on both counts.