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V-282468

CAT II (Medium)

TOSS 5 passwords, for new users, must have a minimum of 15 characters.

Rule ID

SV-282468r1200384_rule

STIG

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

Version

V1R1

CCIs

CCI-004066

Discussion

The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that must 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 increase exponentially the time and/or resources required to compromise the password. The DOD minimum password requirement is 15 characters.

Check Content

Verify TOSS 5 enforces a minimum 15-character password length for new user accounts using the following command:

$ sudo grep -i  pass_min_len /etc/login.defs

PASS_MIN_LEN 15

If the command does not return a "PASS_MIN_LEN" value of "15" or greater, does not return a line, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure TOSS 5 to enforce a minimum 15-character password length for new user accounts.

Add or modify the following line in the "/etc/login.defs" file:

PASS_MIN_LEN 15