Nutanix OS must prevent using dictionary words for passwords.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-279580 | NXAC-OS-000127 | SV-279580r1192309_rule | CCI-004061 | 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 | |||
| Nutanix Acropolis GPOS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-02-24 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-279580r1192309_chk)
Verify Nutanix OS prevents dictionary attacks.
1. For AOS, Prism Central, and Files, verify the "dictcheck" parameter is set to "1", or is commented out using the following command.
$ sudo grep -i dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf
dictcheck = 1
2. For AHV, verify the output contains "pam_pwquality.so" with the option of "required" or "requisite" using the following commands.
$ sudo grep pwquality.so /etc/pam.d/password-auth
password requisite pam_pwquality.so try_first_pass local_users_only enforce_for_root retry=3 authtok_type=
If Nutanix OS VMs are not configured to prevent dictionary attacks, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-84038r1191703_fix)
Configure the use of complex passwords for Nutanix OS VMs.
1. For AOS, configure the use of complex passwords using the following command.
$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/CVM/pamCVM.sls
2. For Prism Central, configure the use of complex passwords using the following command.
$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/PCVM/pamPCVM.sls
3. For Files, configure the use of complex passwords using the following command.
$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/AFS/pamAFS.sls
4. For Prism Central, configure the use of complex passwords using the following command.
$ ncli cluster edit-hypervisor-security-params enable-high-strength-password=true