The RHEL 8 operating system must not have accounts configured with blank or null passwords.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-251706 | RHEL-08-010121 | SV-251706r1017359_rule | High |
| Description |
| If an account has an empty password, anyone could log on and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments. |
| STIG | Date |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-11-25 |
Details
| Check Text (C-55143r809340_chk) |
| Check the "/etc/shadow" file for blank passwords with the following command: $ sudo awk -F: '!$2 {print $1}' /etc/shadow If the command returns any results, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-55097r809341_fix) |
| Configure all accounts on the system to have a password or lock the account with the following commands: Perform a password reset: $ sudo passwd [username] Lock an account: $ sudo passwd -l [username] |