V-279686

Discussion

Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised.

Check Content

1. Verify Nutanix AHV is configured to store encrypted representation of passwords and that the encryption meets required standards using the following command.

$ sudo grep password /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth
/etc/pam.d/system-auth-ac:password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 shadow try_first_pass use_authtok
/etc/pam.d/password-auth:password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 shadow try_first_pass use_authtok

Output should match the example; if it does not this is a finding.

$ sudo grep -i encrypt /etc/login.defs
ENCRYPT_METHOD SHA512

If the "/etc/login.defs" file does not contain the required output, this is a finding.

2. Run the command:

$ sudo grep -i sha512 /etc/libuser.conf
crypt_style = sha512

If the "/etc/libuser.conf" file does not contain the required output, this is a finding.