Rule version TOSS-04-040540 · STIG v2 · 2026-08-20
If TOSS 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.
Verify TOSS prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords.
Determine if the field "dictcheck" is set in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" or "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf" files with the following command:
$ sudo grep -r dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:dictcheck=1
If the "dictcheck" parameter is not set to "1", or is commented out, this is a finding.
Configure TOSS to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.
Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the /etc/pwquality.conf.d/ directory to contain the "dictcheck" parameter:
dictcheck=1