Title

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that when passwords are changed or new passwords are established, the new password must contain at least one special character. (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 operating system enforces password complexity by requiring that at least one special character be used. Note: The value to require a number of special characters to be set is expressed as a negative number in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf". Check the value for "ocredit" in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command: # grep ocredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf ocredit=-1 If the value of "ocredit" is not set to a negative value, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the operating system to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one special character be used by setting the "ocredit" option. Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" (or modify the line to have the required value): ocredit = -1

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-204410r603261_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-204410

Group Title: SRG-OS-000266-GPOS-00101

Expert Comments

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