The system must require at least eight characters be changed between the old and new passwords during a password change.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-216326	SOL-11.1-040060	SV-216326r603267_rule		Medium

Description
To ensure password changes are effective in their goals, the system must ensure old and new passwords have significant differences. Without significant changes, new passwords may be easily guessed based on the value of a previously compromised password.

STIG	Date
Solaris 11 SPARC Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-11-23

Details

Check Text ( C-17562r371066_chk )
Check /etc/default/passwd to verify the MINDIFF setting. # grep ^MINDIFF /etc/default/passwd If the setting is not present, or is less than 8, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-17560r371067_fix)
The root role is required. # pfedit /etc/default/passwd Search for MINDIFF. Change the line to read: MINDIFF=8