NEWPHRASE and PPSCHAR Control Options must be properly set.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-36849	TSS0660	SV-48610r3_rule	DCCS-1 DCCS-2 IAIA-1 IAIA-2	Medium

Description
Sites may opt to use passphrases in lieu of passwords for authentication. A passphrase must nevertheless be constrained by certain complexity parameters to assure appropriate strength. The NEWPHRASE and PPSCHAR Control Options specify the rules that TSS will apply when a user selects a new password phrase. The system-wide options control the default settings for determining how the ACP will function when handling requests for access to the operating system environment, ACP, and customer data. The ACP provides the ability to set a number of these fields at the subsystem level. If no setting is found, the system-wide defaults will be used. The improper setting of any of these fields, individually or in combination with another, can compromise the security of the processing environment. In addition, failure to establish standardized settings for the ACP control options introduces the possibility of exposure during migration process or contingency plan activation.

Description

Sites may opt to use passphrases in lieu of passwords for authentication. A passphrase must nevertheless be constrained by certain complexity parameters to assure appropriate strength. The NEWPHRASE and PPSCHAR Control Options specify the rules that TSS will apply when a user selects a new password phrase. The system-wide options control the default settings for determining how the ACP will function when handling requests for access to the operating system environment, ACP, and customer data. The ACP provides the ability to set a number of these fields at the subsystem level. If no setting is found, the system-wide defaults will be used. The improper setting of any of these fields, individually or in combination with another, can compromise the security of the processing environment. In addition, failure to establish standardized settings for the ACP control options introduces the possibility of exposure during migration process or contingency plan activation.

STIG	Date
z/OS TSS STIG	2019-12-12

Details

Check Text ( C-59407r3_chk )
Refer to the following report produced by the TSS Data Collection: - TSSCMDS.RPT(STATUS) Automated Analysis Refer to the following report produced by the TSS Data Collection: - PDI(TSS0660) If the following guidance is true, this is not a finding. ___ The NEWPHRASE Control Option will conform to the following requirements. MA=1-32 MN=1-32 ID MAX=100 MIN=15-100 MINDAYS=1 NR=0-1 SC=1-32 WARN=1-10 ___ The PPSCHAR Control Option will conform to the allowable list defined in CA Top Secret for z/OS Control Options Guide. Note: These characters will be specified at a minimum. ‘40’ represents the blank character. Characters can be identified by their character or hex equivalent.

Check Text ( C-59407r3_chk )

Refer to the following report produced by the TSS Data Collection:

- TSSCMDS.RPT(STATUS)

Automated Analysis
Refer to the following report produced by the TSS Data Collection:

- PDI(TSS0660)

If the following guidance is true, this is not a finding.

___ The NEWPHRASE Control Option will conform to the following requirements.

MA=1-32
MN=1-32
ID
MAX=100
MIN=15-100
MINDAYS=1
NR=0-1
SC=1-32
WARN=1-10

___ The PPSCHAR Control Option will conform to the allowable list defined in CA Top Secret for z/OS Control Options Guide.

Note: These characters will be specified at a minimum. ‘40’ represents the blank character. Characters can be identified by their character or hex equivalent.

Fix Text (F-64851r2_fix)
Ensure that the NEWPHRASE and PPSCHAR Control Options values are set to the values specified. (Support of mixed case passwords can only be set when the security file has been copied by TSSXTEND with the option NEWPWBLOCK) Configure the NEWPHRASE Control Option values to the following requirements: MA=1-32 MN=1-32 ID MAX=100 MIN=15-100 MINDAYS=1 NR=0-1 SC=1-32 WARN=1-10 Configure the PPSCHAR Control Option to the allowable list defined in CA Top Secret for z/OS User Guide. Note: These characters will be specified at a minimum. ‘40’ represents the blank character. Characters can be identified by their character or hex equivalent. Example: TSS MODIFY NEWPHRASE(MA=1,MN=1,ID,MAX=100,MIN=15,MINDAYS=1,NR=1,SC=1,WARN=10) TSS MODIFY PPSCHAR(c,c,c,c,...) (Use the allowable list defined in CA Top Secret for z/OS Control Options Guide.)

Fix Text (F-64851r2_fix)

Ensure that the NEWPHRASE and PPSCHAR Control Options values are set to the values specified.

(Support of mixed case passwords can only be set when the security file has been copied by TSSXTEND with the option NEWPWBLOCK)

Configure the NEWPHRASE Control Option values to the following requirements:

MA=1-32
MN=1-32
ID
MAX=100
MIN=15-100
MINDAYS=1
NR=0-1
SC=1-32
WARN=1-10

Configure the PPSCHAR Control Option to the allowable list defined in CA Top Secret for z/OS User Guide.

Note: These characters will be specified at a minimum. ‘40’ represents the blank character. Characters can be identified by their character or hex equivalent.

Example:

TSS MODIFY NEWPHRASE(MA=1,MN=1,ID,MAX=100,MIN=15,MINDAYS=1,NR=1,SC=1,WARN=10)
TSS MODIFY PPSCHAR(c,c,c,c,...)

(Use the allowable list defined in CA Top Secret for z/OS Control Options Guide.)