Title

RHEL 9 must not have accounts configured with blank or null passwords. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

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

Check Content

Verify that null or blank passwords cannot be used with the following command: $ sudo awk -F: '!$2 {print $1}' /etc/shadow If the command returns any results, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure all accounts on RHEL 9 to have a password or lock the account with the following commands: Perform a password reset: $ sudo passwd [username] To lock an account: $ sudo passwd -l [username]

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-258120r926347_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-258120

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

Expert Comments

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