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← Back to VMware vSphere 7.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide

V-256397

CAT II (Medium)

The ESXi host must be configured with a sufficiently complex password policy.

Rule ID

SV-256397r984191_rule

STIG

VMware vSphere 7.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R4

CCIs

CCI-000192, CCI-000193, CCI-000194, CCI-000195, CCI-000205, CCI-001619

Discussion

To enforce the use of complex passwords, minimum numbers of characters of different classes are mandated. The use of complex passwords reduces the ability of attackers to successfully obtain valid passwords using guessing or exhaustive search techniques. Complexity requirements increase the password search space by requiring users to construct passwords from a larger character set than they may otherwise use. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000069-VMM-000360, SRG-OS-000070-VMM-000370, SRG-OS-000071-VMM-000380, SRG-OS-000072-VMM-000390, SRG-OS-000078-VMM-000450, SRG-OS-000266-VMM-000940

Check Content

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.

Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.

Select the "Security.PasswordQualityControl" value and verify it is set to "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15".

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:

Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordQualityControl

If the "Security.PasswordQualityControl" setting is not set to "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15", this is a finding.

Fix Text

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.

Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.

Click "Edit". Select the "Security.PasswordQualityControl" value and configure it to "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15".

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:

Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordQualityControl | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15"