The Photon operating system must use the pam_cracklib module.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-239146	PHTN-67-000075	SV-239146r863032_rule		Medium

Description
If the 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
VMware vSphere 6.7 Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2022-09-27

Details

Check Text ( C-42357r863031_chk )
At the command line, execute the following command: # grep pam_cracklib /etc/pam.d/system-password If the output does not return at least "password requisite pam_cracklib.so", 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-42316r816653_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 Save and close.