The vPostgres database must use "md5" for authentication.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256600	VCPG-70-000010	SV-256600r887586_rule		Medium

Description
The DOD standard for authentication is DOD-approved public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates. Authentication based on user ID and password may be used only when it is not possible to employ a PKI certificate, and requires authorizing official approval. In such cases, database passwords stored in clear text, using reversible encryption or unsalted hashes, would be vulnerable to unauthorized disclosure. Database passwords must always be in the form of one-way, salted hashes when stored internally or externally to the database management system (DBMS).

Description

The DOD standard for authentication is DOD-approved public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates. Authentication based on user ID and password may be used only when it is not possible to employ a PKI certificate, and requires authorizing official approval. In such cases, database passwords stored in clear text, using reversible encryption or unsalted hashes, would be vulnerable to unauthorized disclosure. Database passwords must always be in the form of one-way, salted hashes when stored internally or externally to the database management system (DBMS).

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance PostgreSQL Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-06-15

Details

Check Text ( C-60275r887584_chk )
At the command prompt, run the following command: # /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -U postgres -A -t -c "SHOW password_encryption;" Expected result: md5 If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60218r887585_fix)
At the command prompt, run the following commands: # /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -U postgres -c "ALTER SYSTEM SET password_encryption TO 'md5';" # /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -U postgres -c "SELECT pg_reload_conf();"