TOSS must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-253096 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00225 | TOSS-04-040540 | SV-253096r991587_rule | 2026-02-19 | 2 |
Description
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.
ℹ️ Check
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.
✔️ Fix
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