UCF STIG Viewer Logo
Changes are coming to https://stigviewer.com. Take our survey to help us understand your usage and how we can better serve you in the future.
Take Survey

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that when passwords are changed a minimum of four character classes must be changed.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-204412 RHEL-07-010170 SV-204412r603261_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 2022-12-06

Details

Check Text ( C-4536r88428_chk )
The "minclass" option sets the minimum number of required classes of characters for the new password (digits, upper-case, lower-case, others).

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

# grep minclass /etc/security/pwquality.conf
minclass = 4

If the value of "minclass" is set to less than "4", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-4536r88429_fix)
Configure the operating system to require the change of at least four character classes when passwords are changed by setting the "minclass" option.

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

minclass = 4