OL 9 password-auth must be configured to use a sufficient number of hashing rounds.

Severity
Group ID
Group Title
Version
Rule ID
Date
STIG Version
mediumV-271625SRG-OS-000073-GPOS-00041OL09-00-001065SV-271625r1091587_rule2025-05-081
Description
Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Passwords that are encrypted with a weak algorithm are no more protected than if they are kept in plain text. Using more hashing rounds makes password cracking attacks more difficult. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000073-GPOS-00041, SRG-OS-000120-GPOS-00061
ℹ️ Check
Verify that OL 9 password-auth is configured to use a sufficient number of hashing rounds with the following command: $ sudo grep rounds /etc/pam.d/password-auth password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 rounds=100000 If a matching line is not returned or "rounds" is less than "100000", this a finding.
✔️ Fix
Configure Oracle Linux 9 to use 100000 hashing rounds for hashing passwords. Add or modify the following line in "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" and set "rounds" to "100000". password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 rounds=100000