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V-253096

CAT II (Medium)

TOSS must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Rule ID

SV-253096r991587_rule

STIG

Tri-Lab Operating System Stack (TOSS) 4 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V2R5

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

If TOSS allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, then this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses and brute-force attacks.

Check Content

Verify TOSS prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Determine if the field "dictcheck" is set in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" or "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf" files with the following command:

$ sudo grep -r dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d

/etc/security/pwquality.conf:dictcheck=1

If the "dictcheck" parameter is not set to "1", or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure TOSS to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the /etc/pwquality.conf.d/ directory to contain the "dictcheck" parameter:

dictcheck=1