Title

RHEL 8 must not allow blank or null passwords in the password-auth file. (Cat I impact)

Discussion

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log on and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.

Check Content

To verify that null passwords cannot be used, run the following command: $ sudo grep -i nullok /etc/pam.d/password-auth If output is produced, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Remove any instances of the "nullok" option in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file to prevent logons with empty passwords. Note: Manual changes to the listed file may be overwritten by the "authselect" program.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-244541r1017347_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-244541

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.