RHEL 10 must ensure the password complexity module is enabled in the "password-auth" file.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281214 | RHEL-10-600620 | SV-281214r1166594_rule | CCI-004066 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Enabling Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) password complexity permits enforcement of strong passwords and consequently makes the system less prone to dictionary attacks. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037, SRG-OS-000070-GPOS-00038 | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281214r1166594_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 uses "pwquality" to enforce the password complexity rules in the "password-auth" file with the following command:
$ sudo grep pam_pwquality /etc/pam.d/password-auth
password required pam_pwquality.so
If the command does not return a line containing the value "pam_pwquality.so", or the line is commented out, this is a finding.
If the system administrator can demonstrate that the required configuration is contained in a PAM configuration file included or substacked from the "system-auth" file, this is not a finding.
Fix Text (F-85680r1166593_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 to use "pwquality" to enforce password complexity rules.
Add the following line to the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file (or modify the line to have the required value):
password required pam_pwquality.so