UCF STIG Viewer Logo

The pam_unix.so module must use a FIPS 140-2 approved cryptographic hashing algorithm for system authentication.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-214957 UBTU-16-010180 SV-214957r610931_rule Medium
Description
Unapproved mechanisms that are used for authentication to the cryptographic module are not verified and therefore cannot be relied upon to provide confidentiality or integrity, and DoD data may be compromised. Ubuntu operating systems utilizing encryption are required to use FIPS-compliant mechanisms for authenticating to cryptographic modules. FIPS 140-2 is the current standard for validating that mechanisms used to access cryptographic modules utilize authentication that meets DoD requirements. This allows for Security Levels 1, 2, 3, or 4 for use on a general purpose computing system.
STIG Date
Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide 2020-12-09

Details

Check Text ( C-16156r284739_chk )
Verify that pam_unix.so auth is configured to use sha512.

Check that pam_unix.so auth is configured to use sha512 with the following command:

# grep password /etc/pam.d/common-password | grep pam_unix

password [success=1 default=ignore] pam_unix.so obscure sha512

If "sha512" is not an option of the output, or is commented out, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-16154r284740_fix)
Configure the Ubuntu operating system to use a FIPS 140-2 approved cryptographic hashing algorithm for system authentication.

Edit/modify the following line in the file "/etc/pam.d/common-password" file to include the sha512 option for pam_unix.so:

password [success=1 default=ignore] pam_unix.so obscure sha512 shadow remember=5