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The system must require passwords to contain no more than three consecutive repeating characters.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-209029 OL6-00-000299 SV-209029r603263_rule Low
Description
Passwords with excessive repeating characters may be more vulnerable to password-guessing attacks.
STIG Date
Oracle Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2021-06-14

Details

Check Text ( C-9282r357872_chk )
To check the maximum value for consecutive repeating characters, run the following command:

$ grep pam_cracklib /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth

Look for the value of the "maxrepeat" parameter. The DoD requirement is “3”.

If "maxrepeat" is not found, is set to zero, or is set to a value greater than “3”, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-9282r357873_fix)
The pam_cracklib module's ”maxrepeat” parameter controls requirements for consecutive repeating characters. When set to a positive number, it will reject passwords that contain more than the number of consecutive characters.

Edit /etc/pam.d/system-auth and /etc/pam.d/password-auth adding "maxrepeat=3" after pam_cracklib.so to prevent a run of (3 + 1) or more identical characters.
password required pam_cracklib.so maxrepeat=3