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The system must prohibit the reuse of passwords within five iterations.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-50855 OL6-00-000274 SV-65061r4_rule Medium
Description
Preventing reuse of previous passwords helps ensure that a compromised password is not reused by a user.
STIG Date
Oracle Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2016-12-20

Details

Check Text ( C-53327r4_chk )
To verify the password reuse setting is compliant, run the following command:

# grep remember /etc/pam.d/system-auth

The output must be a line beginning with "password required pam_pwhistory.so" and ending with "remember=5".

If the line is commented out, the line does not contain the specified elements, or the value for "remember" is less than 5, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-55649r6_fix)
Do not allow users to reuse recent passwords. This can be accomplished by using the "remember" option for the "pam_pwhistory" PAM module. In the file "/etc/pam.d/system-auth", append "remember=5" to the line which refers to the "pam_pwhistory.so" module, as shown:

password required pam_pwhistory.so [existing_options] remember=5

The DoD requirement is five passwords.