The operating system must store only encrypted representations of passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-258818	PHTN-40-000039	SV-258818r933515_rule		High

Description
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
VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-10-29

Details

Check Text ( C-62558r933513_chk )
At the command line, run the following command to verify passwords are stored with only encrypted representations: # grep ^ENCRYPT_METHOD /etc/login.defs Example result: ENCRYPT_METHOD SHA512 If the "ENCRYPT_METHOD" option is not set to "SHA512", is missing or commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-62467r933514_fix)
Navigate to and open: /etc/login.defs Add or update the following line: ENCRYPT_METHOD SHA512