Title

The Ubuntu operating system 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. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

Check Content

Verify the Ubuntu operating system enforces password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used. Determine if the field "dcredit" is set in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" or "/etc/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf" files with the following command: # grep -i "dcredit" /etc/security/pwquality.conf etc/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf dcredit=-1 If the "dcredit" parameter is not equal to "-1", or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used. Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the /etc/pwquality.conf.d/ directory to contain the "dcredit" parameter: dcredit=-1

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-214951r610931_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-214951

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

Expert Comments

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