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When passwords are changed the number of repeating consecutive characters must not be more than three characters.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-71915 RHEL-07-010180 SV-86539r2_rule Medium
Description
Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.
STIG Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2017-12-14

Details

Check Text ( C-72147r2_chk )
The "maxrepeat" option sets the maximum number of allowed same consecutive characters in a new password.

Check for the value of the "maxrepeat" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command:

# grep maxrepeat /etc/security/pwquality.conf
maxrepeat = 3

If the value of "maxrepeat" is set to more than "3", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-78267r2_fix)
Configure the operating system to require the change of the number of repeating consecutive characters when passwords are changed by setting the "maxrepeat" option.

Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf conf" (or modify the line to have the required value):

maxrepeat = 3