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V-282737

CAT I (High)

TOSS 5 must not allow blank or null passwords.

Rule ID

SV-282737r1201191_rule

STIG

Tri-Lab Operating System Stack (TOSS) 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R1

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.

Check Content

Verify null passwords cannot be used by running the following command:

$ sudo grep -i nullok /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth

If an output is produced, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Remove any instances of the "nullok" option in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" and "/etc/pam.d/system-auth" files to prevent logons with empty passwords.

Note: Manual changes to the listed file may be overwritten by the "authselect" program.