The Ubuntu operating system must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-219174	UBTU-18-010102	SV-219174r508662_rule		Low

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. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

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. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

STIG	Date
Canonical Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-09-10

Details

Check Text ( C-20899r304850_chk )
Verify the Ubuntu operating system enforces password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used. Determine if the field "dcredit" is set in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file with the following command: # grep -i "dcredit" /etc/security/pwquality.conf dcredit=-1 If the "dcredit" parameter is greater than "-1", or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-20898r304851_fix)
Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used. Add or update the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file to contain the "dcredit" parameter: dcredit=-1