STIGUI
V-205656CAT II — Medium severitySV-205656r1051064_rule

Windows Server 2019 minimum password age must be configured to at least one day.

Rule version WN19-AC-000060 · STIG v3 · 2026-02-12

Discussion

Permitting passwords to be changed in immediate succession within the same day allows users to cycle passwords through their history database. This enables users to effectively negate the purpose of mandating periodic password changes.

Check

Verify the effective setting in Local Group Policy Editor.

Run "gpedit.msc".

Navigate to Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy.

If the value for the "Minimum password age" is set to "0" days ("Password can be changed immediately"), this is a finding.

For server core installations, run the following command:

Secedit /Export /Areas SecurityPolicy /CFG C:\Path\FileName.Txt

If "MinimumPasswordAge" equals "0" in the file, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy >> "Minimum password age" to at least "1" day.

Identifiers

Group ID
V-205656
Group title
SRG-OS-000075-GPOS-00043
Rule ID
SV-205656r1051064_rule
Check ID
C-5921r354886_chk
Fix ID
F-5921r354887_fix