The system must require passwords to contain at least one special character.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-208833	OL6-00-000058	SV-208833r793618_rule		Low

Description
Requiring a minimum number of special characters makes password guessing attacks more difficult by ensuring a larger search space.

STIG	Date
Oracle Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-12-03

Details

Check Text ( C-9086r357479_chk )
To check how many special characters are required in a password, run the following command: $ grep pam_cracklib /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth The "ocredit" parameter (as a negative number) will indicate how many special characters are required. The DoD requires at least one special character in a password. This would appear as "ocredit=-1". If the “ocredit” parameter is not found or not set to the required value, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-9086r357479_chk )

To check how many special characters are required in a password, run the following command:

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

The "ocredit" parameter (as a negative number) will indicate how many special characters are required. The DoD requires at least one special character in a password. This would appear as "ocredit=-1".

If the “ocredit” parameter is not found or not set to the required value, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-9086r357480_fix)
The pam_cracklib module's "ocredit=" parameter controls requirements for usage of special (or ``other'') characters in a password. When set to a negative number, any password will be required to contain that many special characters. When set to a positive number, pam_cracklib will grant +1 additional length credit for each special character. Edit /etc/pam.d/system-auth and /etc/pam.d/password-auth adding "ocredit=-1" after pam_cracklib.so to require use of a special character in passwords.

Fix Text (F-9086r357480_fix)

The pam_cracklib module's "ocredit=" parameter controls requirements for usage of special (or ``other'') characters in a password. When set to a negative number, any password will be required to contain that many special characters. When set to a positive number, pam_cracklib will grant +1 additional length credit for each special character.

Edit /etc/pam.d/system-auth and /etc/pam.d/password-auth adding "ocredit=-1" after pam_cracklib.so to require use of a special character in passwords.