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The Photon operating system must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one special character be used.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-239123 PHTN-67-000052 SV-239123r863030_rule Medium
Description
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.
STIG Date
VMware vSphere 6.7 Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide 2022-09-27

Details

Check Text ( C-42334r863029_chk )
At the command line, execute the following command:

# grep pam_cracklib /etc/pam.d/system-password|grep --color=always "ocredit=.."

Expected result:

password requisite pam_cracklib.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=8 minclass=4 difok=4 retry=3 maxsequence=0 enforce_for_root

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

NOTE: After the fix is implemented, the check will not pass until either a reboot is performed or both files are modified, which happens automatically on reboot.
Fix Text (F-42293r816635_fix)
Open /etc/applmgmt/appliance/system-password with a text editor.

Comment out any existing "pam_cracklib.so" line and add the following:

password requisite pam_cracklib.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=8 minclass=4 difok=4 retry=3 maxsequence=0 enforce_for_root

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