TOSS 5 must enforce password complexity rules for the root account.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-282450 | SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040 | TOSS-05-000338 | SV-282450r1200330_rule | 2026-04-01 | 1 |
Description
Using 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 the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that must be tested before the password is compromised.
ℹ️ Check
Verify TOSS 5 enforces password complexity rules for the root account.
Check if root user is required to use complex passwords using the following command:
$ grep enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf/*.conf
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:enforce_for_root
If "enforce_for_root" is commented or missing, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Configure TOSS 5 to enforce password complexity on the root account.
Add or update the following line in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf":
enforce_for_root