Title

The Ubuntu operating system must enforce a minimum 15-character password length. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. Use of more characters in a password helps to exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.

Check Content

Verify if the pwquality configuration file enforces a minimum 15-character password length, by running the following command: # grep -i minlen /etc/security/pwquality.conf minlen=15 If "minlen" parameter value is not 15 or higher, or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce a minimum 15-character password length. Add, or modify the "minlen" parameter value to the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file: minlen=15

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-219181r610963_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-219181

Group Title: SRG-OS-000078-GPOS-00046

Expert Comments

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