Title

IBM z/VM must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one special 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 in determining 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. Special characters are those characters that are not alphanumeric. Examples include: ~ ! @ # $ % ^ *.

Check Content

If there is no VM:Secure Password exit in use, this is a finding. Review the VM:Secure Password exit. If there is no code requiring that at least one special character be used in the new password, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure a VM:Secure Password exit that requires at least one special character be used in the new password. Ensure that the following macros are updated with proper Password user exit: FORCEPWC VMXCHGPW MAINT USE00080

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID:

Vulnerability ID: IBMZ-VM-000850

Group Title:

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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