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V-234897

CAT II (Medium)

The SUSE operating system must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Rule ID

SV-234897r991587_rule

STIG

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V2R7

CCIs

None

Discussion

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

Check Content

Verify the SUSE operating system prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Check that the SUSE operating system prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords with the following command:

> grep pam_cracklib.so /etc/pam.d/common-password
password requisite pam_cracklib.so

If the command does not return anything, or the returned line is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the SUSE operating system to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Edit "/etc/pam.d/common-password" and add the following line:

password requisite pam_cracklib.so