The Photon operating system must store only encrypted representations of passwords.

Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised.

At the command line, run the following command:

# grep SHA512 /etc/login.defs|grep -v "#"

Expected result:

ENCRYPT_METHOD SHA512

If there is no output or if the output does match the expected result, this is a finding.

Navigate to and open:

/etc/login.defs

Add or replace the ENCRYPT_METHOD line as follows:

ENCRYPT_METHOD SHA512