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V-252705

CAT II (Medium)

IBM z/OS must enforce a minimum eight character password length.

Rule ID

SV-252705r1001146_rule

STIG

IBM z/OS ACF2 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V9R8

CCIs

CCI-004065 CCI-004066

Discussion

The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. Use of more characters in a password helps to exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.

Check Content

From an ACF command screen enter:
SET CONTROL(GSO)
LIST PSWD

If "MINPSWD" is set to "8", this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the Password option "MINPSWD" to "8".