← Back to Nutanix AOS 5.20.x OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

V-254210

CAT II (Medium)

Nutanix AOS must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used.

Rule ID

SV-254210r982197_rule

STIG

Nutanix AOS 5.20.x OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R2

CCIs

CCI-000194

Discussion

Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

Check Content

Confirm Nutanix AOS is configured to require complex passwords.
Note: The value to require a number of numeric characters to be set is expressed as a negative number in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf".

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

$ sudo grep dcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf 
dcredit = -1

If the value of "dcredit" is not set to a negative value, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the complex password requirements by running the following command:

$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/CVM/pamCVM