Rule version RHEL-08-010121 · STIG v2 · 2026-05-20
If an account has an empty password, anyone could log on and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.
Check the "/etc/shadow" file for blank passwords with the following command:
$ sudo awk -F: '!$2 {print $1}' /etc/shadowIf the command returns any results, this is a finding.
Configure all accounts on the system to have a password or lock the account with the following commands:
Perform a password reset: $ sudo passwd [username] Lock an account: $ sudo passwd -l [username]