The RHEL 8 system-auth file must be configured to use a sufficient number of hashing rounds.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-244520	RHEL-08-010131	SV-244520r743809_rule		Medium

Description
The system must use a strong hashing algorithm to store the password. The system must use a sufficient number of hashing rounds to ensure the required level of entropy. Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-06-14

Details

Check Text ( C-47795r743807_chk )
Check that a minimum number of hash rounds is configured by running the following command: $ sudo grep rounds /etc/pam.d/system-auth password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 rounds=5000 If "rounds" has a value below "5000", or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-47752r743808_fix)
Configure RHEL 8 to encrypt all stored passwords with a strong cryptographic hash. Edit/modify the following line in the "etc/pam.d/system-auth" file and set "rounds" to a value no lower than "5000": password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 rounds=5000