The Ubuntu operating system must be configured so that when passwords are changed or new passwords are established, pwquality must be used.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-214948	UBTU-16-010099	SV-214948r610931_rule		Medium

Description
Use of 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. "pwquality" enforces complex password construction configuration and has the ability to limit brute-force attacks on the system.

STIG	Date
Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-12-09

Details

Check Text ( C-16147r284712_chk )

Verify that the "libpam-pwquality" module is installed: # dpkg -l | grep libpam-pwquality ii libpam-pwquality:amd64 1.3.0-0ubuntu1 If the "libpam-pwquality" package is not installed, this is a finding. Verify the operating system uses "pwquality" to enforce the password complexity rules. Check for the use of "pwquality" with the following command: # cat /etc/pam.d/common-password | grep pam_pwquality password required pam_pwquality.so retry=3 If the command does not return an uncommented line containing the value "pam_pwquality.so", this is a finding. If the value of "retry" is set to "0" or greater than "3", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-16145r284713_fix)
Configure the operating system to use "pam_pwquality" to enforce password complexity rules. Install the "libpam-pwquality" package: # sudo apt install libpam-pwquality Add the following line to "/etc/pam.d/common-password" (or modify the line to have the required value): password required pam_pwquality.so retry=3 Note: The value of "retry" should be between "1" and "3".