Nutanix OS must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-279607 | NXAC-OS-000164 | SV-279607r1192494_rule | CCI-004066 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Using 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 | |||
| Nutanix Acropolis GPOS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-02-24 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-279607r1192494_chk)
Verify Nutanix AOS is configured to require complex passwords. Note: The value to require a number of numeric characters to be set is expressed as a negative number in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf".
Check the value for "dcredit" in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" using the following command.
$ sudo grep dcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf
dcredit = -1
If the value of "dcredit" is not set to a negative value, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-84065r1192319_fix)
Configure Nutanix OS to use complex passwords.
1. For AOS, enter the following command.
$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/CVM/pamCVM.sls
2. For Prism Central, enter the following command.
$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/PCVM/pamPCVM.sls
3. For Files, enter the following command.
$ sudo salt-call state.sls security/AFS/pamAFS.sls
4. For AHV OS CVM, enter the following command.
$ ncli cluster edit-hypervisor-security-params enable-high-strength-password=true