Rule ID
SV-258097r1045193_rule
Version
V2R8
Enabling PAM password complexity permits enforcement of strong passwords and consequently makes the system less prone to dictionary attacks. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037, SRG-OS-000070-GPOS-00038, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227
Verify RHEL 9 uses "pwquality" to enforce the password complexity rules in the password-auth file with the following command: $ grep pam_pwquality /etc/pam.d/password-auth password required pam_pwquality.so If the command does not return a line containing the value "pam_pwquality.so", or the line is commented out, this is a finding. If the system administrator (SA) can demonstrate that the required configuration is contained in a PAM configuration file included or substacked from the system-auth file, this is not a finding.
Configure RHEL 9 to use "pwquality" to enforce password complexity rules. Add the following line to the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file (or modify the line to have the required value): password required pam_pwquality.so