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V-268169

CAT II (Medium)

NixOS must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Rule ID

SV-268169r1131144_rule

STIG

Anduril NixOS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R2

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

If the operating system 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 NixOS prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords with the following command:

$ grep dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf

 dictcheck=1

If the value of "ocredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure NixOS to check password change attempts against a dictionary.

Add the following Nix code to the NixOS Configuration, usually located in /etc/nixos/configuration.nix or /etc/nixos/flake.nix:

environment.etc."/security/pwquality.conf".text = ''
dictcheck=1
'';

Rebuild and switch to the new NixOS configuration:
$ sudo nixos-rebuild switch