Title

NixOS must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one uppercase character be used. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks.

Check Content

Verify NixOS enforces password complexity by requiring at least one uppercase character with the following command: $ grep ucredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf ucredit=-1 If the value of "ucredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure NixOS to enforce password complexity. Add/modify /etc/nixos/configuration.nix to include the following lines: environment.etc."/security/pwquality.conf".text = '' ucredit=-1 ''; Rebuild the system with the following command: $ sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-268126r1039266_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-268126

Group Title: SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037

Expert Comments

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