STIGUI
V-260564CAT II — Medium severitySV-260564r991587_rule

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Rule version UBTU-22-611030 · STIG v2 · 2026-09-09

Discussion

If Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 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

Verify Ubuntu 22.04 LTS prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords by using the following command:

     $ grep -i dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf 
     dictcheck = 1  

If "dictcheck" is not set to "1", is commented out, or is missing, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Add or modify the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file:

dictcheck = 1

Identifiers

Group ID
V-260564
Group title
SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00225
Rule ID
SV-260564r991587_rule
Check ID
C-64293r953503_chk
Fix ID
F-64201r953504_fix