RHEL 9 must require the maximum number of repeating characters be limited to three when passwords are changed.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-258114 | SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040 | RHEL-09-611125 | SV-258114r1045235_rule | 2025-02-27 | 2 |
| Description |
|---|
| 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 determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex a password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| Verify that RHEL 9 requires that passwords can have a maximum of three of the same consecutive character. $ grep maxrepeat /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf maxrepeat = 3 If the value of "maxrepeat" is set to more than "3", or is commented out, this is a finding. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| Configure RHEL 9 to require the change of the number of repeating consecutive characters when passwords are changed by setting the "maxrepeat" option. Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/" directory to contain the "maxrepeat" parameter: maxrepeat = 3 |