Title

TOSS must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

If TOSS allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, then this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses and brute-force attacks.

Check Content

Verify TOSS prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords. Determine if the field "dictcheck" is set in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" or "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf" files with the following command: $ sudo grep -r dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d /etc/security/pwquality.conf:dictcheck=1 If the "dictcheck" parameter is not set to "1", or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure TOSS to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords. Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the /etc/pwquality.conf.d/ directory to contain the "dictcheck" parameter: dictcheck=1

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-253096r991587_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-253096

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00225

Expert Comments

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