Title

If multifactor authentication is not supported and passwords must be used, the NSX vCenter must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one upper-case character be used. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determine how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

Check Content

From the vSphere Web Client, go to Administration >> Single Sign-On >> Configuration >> Policies >> Password Policy. View the values of the password format requirements. The following password requirement should be set at a minimum: Upper-case Characters: At least "1" If this password complexity policy is not configured as stated, this is a finding.

Fix Text

From the vSphere Web Client, go to Administration >> Single Sign-On >> Configuration >> Policies >> Password Policy. Click "Edit". Set Upper-case Characters to at least "1" and click "OK".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-83783r1_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-69179

Group Title: SRG-APP-000166-NDM-000254

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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