The Samsung KNOX for Android platform must enforce a minimum password length of six characters.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-69595	KNOX-34-008700	SV-84217r1_rule		Low

Description
Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting guessing and brute force attacks. The ability to crack a password is a function of how many attempts an adversary is permitted, how quickly an adversary can do each attempt, and the size of the password space. The longer the minimum length of the password is, the larger the password space. Having a too-short minimum password length significantly reduces password strength, increasing the chance of password compromise and resulting device and data compromise. SFR ID: FMT_SMF_EXT.1.1 #01a

Description

Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting guessing and brute force attacks. The ability to crack a password is a function of how many attempts an adversary is permitted, how quickly an adversary can do each attempt, and the size of the password space. The longer the minimum length of the password is, the larger the password space. Having a too-short minimum password length significantly reduces password strength, increasing the chance of password compromise and resulting device and data compromise. SFR ID: FMT_SMF_EXT.1.1 #01a

STIG	Date
Samsung Android OS 6 (with KNOX 2.x) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2016-11-14

Details

Check Text ( C-70013r1_chk )
This validation procedure is performed on both the MDM Administration Console and the Samsung KNOX for Android device. Check whether the appropriate setting is configured on the MDM Administration Console: 1. Ask the MDM administrator to display the "Min Length" setting in the "Android Password Restrictions" rule. 2. Verify the value of the setting is the same or greater than the required length. On the Samsung KNOX for Android device: 1. Open the device settings. 2. Select "Lock screen and security". 3. Select "Screen lock type". 4. Enter current password. 5. Select "Password". 6. Attempt to enter a password with fewer characters than the required length. 7. Verify the password is not accepted. If the configured value of the "Min Length" setting is less than the required length or if the device accepts a password of less than the required length, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-70013r1_chk )

This validation procedure is performed on both the MDM Administration Console and the Samsung KNOX for Android device.

Check whether the appropriate setting is configured on the MDM Administration Console:
1. Ask the MDM administrator to display the "Min Length" setting in the "Android Password Restrictions" rule.
2. Verify the value of the setting is the same or greater than the required length.

On the Samsung KNOX for Android device:
1. Open the device settings.
2. Select "Lock screen and security".
3. Select "Screen lock type".
4. Enter current password.
5. Select "Password".
6. Attempt to enter a password with fewer characters than the required length.
7. Verify the password is not accepted.

If the configured value of the "Min Length" setting is less than the required length or if the device accepts a password of less than the required length, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-75769r1_fix)
Configure the mobile operating system to enforce a minimum password length of six characters. On the MDM Administration Console, set the "Min Length" value to "6" or greater in the "Android Password Restrictions" rule. Note: When device encryption is enabled (always enabled by the DoD configuration), Samsung KNOX for Android automatically enforces a minimum length of "6".