AlmaLinux OS 9 must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-269242	ALMA-09-018390	SV-269242r1050124_rule	CCI-000366	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.
STIG			Date
Cloud Linux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide			2026-02-27

Related Frameworks

4 paths across 3 frameworks

NIST 800-531 mapping

CM-6

1.00

DISA · V1R6 · disa_xccdf · related
DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent

NIST 800-1712 mappings

3.4.1

1.00

DISA · V1R6 · disa_xccdf · related
DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent

3.4.2

1.00

DISA · V1R6 · disa_xccdf · related
DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent

CCI1 mapping

CCI-000366

1.00

DISA · V1R6 · disa_xccdf · related

Details

Check Text (C-269242r1050124_chk)

Verify AlmaLinux OS 9 prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords with the following command: $ grep -r dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf* /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/stig.conf:dictcheck = 1 If the value of "dictcheck" is not "1" , is not set, is commented out, or if conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-73174r1049362_fix)

Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords. 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: dictcheck = 1 Remove any configurations that conflict with the above value.