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AlmaLinux OS 9 must require the change of at least eight characters when passwords are changed.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-269397ALMA-09-037090SV-269397r1050280_ruleCCI-004066medium
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.
STIGDate
Cloud Linux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-02-27

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 4 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (3) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

IAC-10Authenticator Management
0.50
IAC-10.1Password-Based Authentication
0.50
IAC-10.4Automated Support For Password Strength
0.50
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (61) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-10Concurrent Session Control
1.00
AC-12Session Termination
1.00
AC-17(10)Authenticate Remote Commands
1.00
AC-2(1)Automated System Account Management
1.00
AC-2(10)Shared and Group Account Credential Change
1.00
AC-2(11)Usage Conditions
1.00
AC-2(2)Automated Temporary and Emergency Account Management
1.00
AC-2(3)Disable Accounts
1.00
AC-2(4)Automated Audit Actions
1.00
AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00

+51 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

NIST 800-1710 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (4) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

3.5.10
1.00
3.5.7
1.00
3.5.8
1.00
3.5.9
1.00
CCI1 mapping
CCI-004066
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-269397r1050280_chk)

Verify that AlmaLinux OS 9 enforces password complexity by requiring at least eight characters differ when passwords are changed with the following command: $ grep -r difok /etc/security/pwquality.conf* /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/stig.conf:difok = 8 If the value of "difok" is less than "8", is not set, is commented out, or if conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-73329r1049629_fix)

Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to require the change of at least eight of the total number of characters when passwords are changed by setting the "difok" option. 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: difok = 8 Remove any configurations that conflict with the above value.