Detections
Analytics
ALMA-09-036100 - AlmaLinux OS 9 must enforce password complexity rules for the root account.
Information
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.
Solution
Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to enforce password complexity on the root account.Add or update the following line in /etc/security/pwquality.conf:
enforce_for_root
Note: Unlike most Linux tools, pam_pwquality does not override its defaults with those in a drop-in file, so edit /etc/security/pwquality.conf and not use a file in /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/ or comment out the setting in /etc/security/pwquality.conf if using a drop-in file.
See Also
https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_CL_AlmaLinux_OS_9_V1R6_STIG.zip
Item Details
Audit Name: DISA Cloud Linux AlmaLinux OS 9 STIG v1r6
Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION
References: 800-53|IA-5(1)(a), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-004066, Rule-ID|SV-269388r1155272_rule, STIG-ID|ALMA-09-036100, Vuln-ID|V-269388
Plugin: Unix
Control ID: c774afecad4f93760eee9388e9b398c3e0aacb53ce2ff07438a46554184ea728