The SUSE operating system must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-217134	SLES-12-010320	SV-217134r505931_rule		Medium

Description
If the SUSE operating system allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses and brute-force attacks.

STIG	Date
SLES 12 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-09-10

Details

Check Text ( C-18362r369558_chk )
Verify the SUSE operating system prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords. Check that the SUSE operating system prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords with the following command: # grep pam_cracklib.so /etc/pam.d/common-password password requisite pam_cracklib.so retry=3 If the command does not return anything, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding. If the value of "retry" is greater than 3, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-18362r369558_chk )

Verify the SUSE operating system prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Check that the SUSE operating system prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords with the following command:

# grep pam_cracklib.so /etc/pam.d/common-password
password requisite pam_cracklib.so retry=3

If the command does not return anything, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding.

If the value of "retry" is greater than 3, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-18360r369559_fix)
Configure the SUSE operating system to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords. Edit "/etc/pam.d/common-password" and add the following line: password requisite pam_cracklib.so retry=3