The Photon operating system must use the "pam_cracklib" module.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-256541 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00225 | PHTN-30-000071 | SV-256541r991587_rule | 2024-12-16 | 1 |
Description
If the operating system allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses and brute-force attacks.
ℹ️ Check
At the command line, run the following command:
# grep pam_cracklib /etc/pam.d/system-password
If the output does not return at least "password requisite pam_cracklib.so", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Navigate to and open:
/etc/pam.d/system-password
Add the following, replacing any existing "pam_cracklib.so" line:
password requisite pam_cracklib.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=8 minclass=4 difok=4 retry=3 maxsequence=0 enforce_for_root
Note: On vCenter appliances, the equivalent file must be edited under "/etc/applmgmt/appliance", if one exists, for the changes to persist after a reboot.