Title

NixOS must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric 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 numeric character with the following command: $ grep dcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf dcredit=-1 If the value of "dcredit" 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 = '' dcredit=-1 ''; Rebuild the system with the following command: $ sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-268128r1039272_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-268128

Group Title: SRG-OS-000071-GPOS-00039

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.