← Back to Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide

V-270732

CAT II (Medium)

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must enforce a minimum 15-character password length.

Rule ID

SV-270732r1066685_rule

STIG

Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R5

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. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000078-GPOS-00046, SRG-OS-000730-GPOS-00190

Check Content

Verify the pwquality configuration file enforces a minimum 15-character password length with the following command:

$ grep -i minlen /etc/security/pwquality.conf
minlen=15

If "minlen" parameter value is not "15" or higher, is commented out, or is missing, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to enforce a minimum 15-character password length. 
 
Add or modify the "minlen" parameter value to the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file: 
 
minlen=15