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The macOS system must enforce a minimum 15-character password length.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-252523 APPL-12-003010 SV-252523r816383_rule Medium
Description
The minimum password length must be set to 15 characters. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. The use of more characters in a password helps to exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.
STIG Date
Apple macOS 12 (Monterey) Security Technical Implementation Guide 2022-09-07

Details

Check Text ( C-55979r816381_chk )
To check the currently applied policies for passwords and accounts, use the following command:

/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPConfigurationProfileDataType | /usr/bin/grep minLength

If the return is null or not "minLength = 15", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-55929r816382_fix)
This setting is enforced using the "Passcode Policy" configuration profile.