RHEL 10 must require the change of at least four character classes when passwords are changed.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281189 | RHEL-10-600300 | SV-281189r1195442_rule | CCI-004066 | 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 a password is, the greater the number of possible combinations that must be tested before the password is compromised. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281189r1195442_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 sets the value of the "minclass" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command:
$ sudo grep -s minclass /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:minclass = 4
If the value of "minclass" is set to less than "4" or is commented out, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85655r1195441_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 to require the change of at least four character classes when passwords are changed by setting the "minclass" 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 to contain the "minclass" parameter:
minclass = 4