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V-204423

CAT II (Medium)

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that passwords are a minimum of 15 characters in length.

Rule ID

SV-204423r982202_rule

STIG

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R15

CCIs

CCI-000205

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

Verify the operating system enforces a minimum 15-character password length. The "minlen" option sets the minimum number of characters in a new password.

Check for the value of the "minlen" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command:

# grep minlen /etc/security/pwquality.conf
minlen = 15

If the command does not return a "minlen" value of 15 or greater, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure operating system to enforce a minimum 15-character password length.

Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" (or modify the line to have the required value):

minlen = 15