Amazon Linux 2023 must enforce password complexity rules for the root account.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-274139 | AZLX-23-002385 | SV-274139r1120405_rule | CCI-004066 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| 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. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040, SRG-OS-000071-GPOS-00039, SRG-OS-000070-GPOS-00038, SRG-OS-000266-GPOS-00101, SRG-OS-000078-GPOS-00046, SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037 | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Amazon Linux 2023 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-02-27 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-274139r1120405_chk)
Verify Amazon Linux 2023 enforces password complexity rules for the root account with the following command:
$ sudo grep -rs enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:enforce_for_root
If "enforce_for_root" is commented or missing, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-78135r1120404_fix)
Configure Amazon Linux 2023 to enforce password complexity on the root account.
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 "enforce_for_root" parameter:
enforce_for_root