Title

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that passwords are a minimum of 15 characters in 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 the operating system enforces a minimum 15-character password length. The "minlen" option sets the minimum number of characters in a new password. Check for the value of the "minlen" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command: # grep minlen /etc/security/pwquality.conf minlen = 15 If the command does not return a "minlen" value of 15 or greater, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure operating system to enforce a minimum 15-character password length. Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" (or modify the line to have the required value): minlen = 15

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-204423r603261_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-204423

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

Expert Comments

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