The firewall implementation must enforce minimum password length.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-37181	SRG-NET-000153-FW-000086	SV-48942r1_rule		Medium

Description
Authorization for access to any firewall requires an approved and assigned individual account identifier. To ensure only the assigned individual is using the account, the account holder must create a strong password that is privately maintained and changed based on the organizationally defined frequency. Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting guessing, dictionary attacks, and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor in determining password strength. Use of a longer password string will exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password. Information systems not protected with strong password schemes, including passwords of minimum length, provide the opportunity for anyone to crack the password, thus gaining access to the system and causing the device, information, or the local network to be compromised or made vulnerable to a denial of service attack. This control applies to passwords configured or controlled by the firewall itself.

Description

Authorization for access to any firewall requires an approved and assigned individual account identifier. To ensure only the assigned individual is using the account, the account holder must create a strong password that is privately maintained and changed based on the organizationally defined frequency. Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting guessing, dictionary attacks, and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor in determining password strength. Use of a longer password string will exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password. Information systems not protected with strong password schemes, including passwords of minimum length, provide the opportunity for anyone to crack the password, thus gaining access to the system and causing the device, information, or the local network to be compromised or made vulnerable to a denial of service attack. This control applies to passwords configured or controlled by the firewall itself.

STIG	Date
Firewall Security Requirements Guide	2013-04-24

Details

Check Text ( C-45504r1_chk )
If authentication functionality is provided by the underlying platform's account management system or by a network authentication server rather than the firewall application itself, this is not a finding. Review the firewall account management configuration and settings to determine whether the minimum password length is configured. If the firewall configuration does not enforce a minimum password length, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-45504r1_chk )

If authentication functionality is provided by the underlying platform's account management system or by a network authentication server rather than the firewall application itself, this is not a finding.

Review the firewall account management configuration and settings to determine whether the minimum password length is configured.

If the firewall configuration does not enforce a minimum password length, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-42120r1_fix)
Configure the firewall implementation to enforce a minimum password length.