STIGhubSTIGhub
STIGsSearchCompareAbout

STIGhub

A free tool to search and browse the entire DISA STIG library. Saves up to 75% in security compliance research time.

Navigation

  • Browse STIGs
  • Search
  • Compare Versions

Resources

  • About
  • VPAT
  • DISA STIG Library
Powered by Pylon
© 2026 Beacon Cloud Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
← Back to Amazon Linux 2023 Security Technical Implementation Guide

V-274139

CAT II (Medium)

Amazon Linux 2023 must enforce password complexity rules for the root account.

Rule ID

SV-274139r1120405_rule

STIG

Amazon Linux 2023 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R3

CCIs

CCI-004066

Discussion

Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040, SRG-OS-000071-GPOS-00039, SRG-OS-000070-GPOS-00038, SRG-OS-000266-GPOS-00101, SRG-OS-000078-GPOS-00046, SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037

Check Content

Verify Amazon Linux 2023 enforces password complexity rules for the root account with the following command:

$ sudo grep -rs enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:enforce_for_root

If "enforce_for_root" is commented or missing, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure Amazon Linux 2023 to enforce password complexity on the root account.

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

enforce_for_root