Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
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V-258112 | RHEL-09-611115 | SV-258112r997097_rule | Medium |
Description |
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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. Requiring a minimum number of different characters during password changes ensures that newly changed passwords will not resemble previously compromised ones. Note that passwords changed on compromised systems will still be compromised. |
STIG | Date |
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-06-04 |
Check Text ( C-61853r926321_chk ) |
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Verify the value of the "difok" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command: $ sudo grep difok /etc/security/pwquality.conf difok = 8 If the value of "difok" is set to less than "8", or is commented out, this is a finding. |
Fix Text (F-61777r926322_fix) |
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Configure RHEL 9 to require the change of at least eight of the total number of characters when passwords are changed by setting the "difok" option. Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" (or modify the line to have the required value): difok = 8 |