RHEL-09-611110 RHEL 9 must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one uppercase character be used.
All changes in this version
Maps to IA-5(1) via CCI-004066, CCI-000192
Title
RHEL 9 must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one uppercase character be used.
Control
Verify that RHEL 9 enforces password complexity by requiring that at least one uppercase character be used. Check the value for "ucredit" with the following command: $ grep ucredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf ucredit = -1 If the value of "ucredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.
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. Requiring a minimum number of uppercase characters makes password guessing attacks more difficult by ensuring a larger search space.
Related controls
CCI-000192, CCI-004066
Fix
Configure RHEL 9 to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one uppercase character be used by setting the "ucredit" option. Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/" directory to contain the "ucredit" parameter: ucredit = -1