Title

RHEL 9 must ensure the password complexity module is enabled in the system-auth file. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Enabling PAM password complexity permits enforcement of strong passwords and consequently makes the system less prone to dictionary attacks.

Check Content

Verify RHEL 9 uses "pwquality" to enforce the password complexity rules in the system-auth file with the following command: $ grep pam_pwquality /etc/pam.d/system-auth password required pam_pwquality.so If the command does not return a line containing the value "pam_pwquality.so", or the line is commented out, this is a finding. If the system administrator (SA) can demonstrate that the required configuration is contained in a PAM configuration file included or substacked from the system-auth file, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Configure RHEL 9 to use "pwquality" to enforce password complexity rules. Add the following line to the "/etc/pam.d/system-auth" file(or modify the line to have the required value): password required pam_pwquality.so

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-258098r1045195_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-258098

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

Expert Comments

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