RHEL 9 must be configured so that user and group account administration utilities are configured to store only encrypted representations of passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-258116	RHEL-09-611135	SV-258116r997101_rule		Medium

Description
Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Passwords that are encrypted with a weak algorithm are no more protected than if they are kept in plain text. This setting ensures user and group account administration utilities are configured to store only encrypted representations of passwords. Additionally, the "crypt_style" configuration option ensures the use of a strong hashing algorithm that makes password cracking attacks more difficult.

Description

Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Passwords that are encrypted with a weak algorithm are no more protected than if they are kept in plain text. This setting ensures user and group account administration utilities are configured to store only encrypted representations of passwords. Additionally, the "crypt_style" configuration option ensures the use of a strong hashing algorithm that makes password cracking attacks more difficult.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-06-04

Details

Check Text ( C-61857r926333_chk )
Verify the user and group account administration utilities are configured to store only encrypted representations of passwords with the following command: # grep crypt /etc/libuser.conf crypt_style = sha512 If the "crypt_style" variable is not set to "sha512", is not in the defaults section, is commented out, or does not exist, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61781r926334_fix)
Configure RHEL 9 to use the SHA-512 algorithm for password hashing. Add or change the following line in the "[default]" section of "/etc/libuser.conf" file: crypt_style = sha512