Title

RHEL 8 passwords for new users or password changes must have a 24 hours/1 day minimum password lifetime restriction in /etc/login.defs. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Enforcing a minimum password lifetime helps to prevent repeated password changes to defeat the password reuse or history enforcement requirement. If users are allowed to immediately and continually change their password, the password could be repeatedly changed in a short period of time to defeat the organization's policy regarding password reuse.

Check Content

Verify the operating system enforces 24 hours/1 day as the minimum password lifetime for new user accounts. Check for the value of "PASS_MIN_DAYS" in "/etc/login.defs" with the following command: $ sudo grep -i pass_min_days /etc/login.defs PASS_MIN_DAYS 1 If the "PASS_MIN_DAYS" parameter value is not "1" or greater, or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the operating system to enforce 24 hours/1 day as the minimum password lifetime. Add the following line in "/etc/login.defs" (or modify the line to have the required value): PASS_MIN_DAYS 1

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-230365r1017177_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-230365

Group Title: SRG-OS-000075-GPOS-00043

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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