---
title: "HOST-USR-007 Insecure Trust Files in Home Directories"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-USR-007.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-USR-007.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# HOST-USR-007 Insecure Trust Files in Home Directories

Looks for .rhosts, .shosts and .netrc files in user home directories.

- Domain: Server
- Severity: High
- Control category: Identity and Authentication
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 5.2
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.AA-01
- CWE: CWE-256, CWE-290
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: IA-5, CM-6
- Benchmark topic: No .rhosts, .netrc files (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

.rhosts and .shosts grant password-less trust to other hosts. .netrc files usually hold plain-text passwords for FTP or other services.

## How It Detects

Reads home directories from /etc/passwd and checks each for .rhosts, .shosts and .netrc (file existence only; contents are never read).

## How to Fix

Delete .rhosts and .shosts files. Replace .netrc credentials with a secret manager or key-based authentication, then delete the file and rotate the passwords it contained.

## How to Verify

```
Re-run this check; no files should be listed.
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P7 Identity, Passwords and Privilege](https://openvapt.com/academy/p7.md)
- [P15 Access Control: Accounts, Sudo and Logins](https://openvapt.com/academy/p15.md)

## References

- [MITRE ATT&CK T1552.001, Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1552/001/)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/host/passwords.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only HOST-USR-007`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain HOST-USR-007`.

---

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