AIX must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-215229 | AIX7-00-001132 | SV-215229r991587_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| If the operating system allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, then this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses and brute-force attacks. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| IBM AIX 7.x Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-08-16 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-215229r991587_chk)
From the command prompt, run the following command to check if the default "dictionlist" attribute is set:
# lssec -f /etc/security/user -s default -a dictionlist
The above command should yield the following output:
dictionlist="/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English"
If the above command shows an empty string for default "dictionlist" attribute, this is a finding.
From the command prompt, run the following command to check if "dictionlist" attribute is set for all users:
# lsuser -a dictionlist ALL
The above command should yield the following output:
root dictionlist=/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English
daemon dictionlist=/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English
bin dictionlist=/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English
sys dictionlist=/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English
If any user's "dictionlist" attribute is empty, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-16425r294139_fix)
From the command prompt, run the following command to set "dictionlist" attribute for the default stanza in "/etc/security/user":
# chsec -f /etc/security/user -s default -a dictionlist="/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English"
From the command prompt, run the following command to set "dictionlist" attribute for users who have an empty "dictionlist" attribute:
# chsec -f /etc/security/user -s [user_name] -a dictionlist="/etc/security/ice/dictionary/English"