RHEL-10-600620 RHEL 10 must ensure the password complexity module is enabled in the "password-auth" file.
All changes in this version
Maps to IA-5(1) via CCI-004066
Title
RHEL 10 must ensure the password complexity module is enabled in the "password-auth" file.
Control
Verify RHEL 10 uses "pwquality" to enforce the password complexity rules in the "password-auth" file with the following command: $ sudo 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 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.
Discussion
Enabling Pluggable Authentication Module (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
Related controls
CCI-004066
Fix
Configure RHEL 10 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