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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-238225	UBTU-20-010054	SV-238225r832942_rule		Medium

Description
The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. 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. Use of more characters in a password helps to exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.

Description

The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. 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. Use of more characters in a password helps to exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.

STIG	Date
Canonical Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-09-08

Details

Check Text ( C-41435r832941_chk )
Verify the pwquality configuration file enforces a minimum 15-character password length by running the following command: $ grep -i minlen /etc/security/pwquality.conf minlen=15 If "minlen" parameter value is not "15" or higher or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-41394r653849_fix)
Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce a minimum 15-character password length. Add or modify the "minlen" parameter value to the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file: minlen=15