NixOS must enforce 24 hours/one day as the minimum password lifetime.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-268132 | SRG-OS-000075-GPOS-00043 | ANIX-00-000790 | SV-268132r1131069_rule | 2025-08-19 | 1 |
Description
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, then the password could be repeatedly changed in a short period of time to defeat the organization's policy regarding password reuse.
ℹ️ Check
Verify NixOS enforces 24 hours/one day as the minimum password lifetime with the following command:
$ grep PASS_MIN_DAYS /etc/login.defs
PASS_MIN_DAYS 1
If PASS_MIN_DAYS_1 is not present, is commented out, or is a value different from 1, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Configure NixOS operating system to enforce 24 hours/one day as the minimum password lifetime.
Add the following Nix code to the NixOS Configuration, usually located in /etc/nixos/configuration.nix or /etc/nixos/flake.nix:
security.loginDefs.settings.PASS_MIN_DAYS = "1";
Rebuild and switch to the new NixOS configuration:
$ sudo nixos-rebuild switch