RHEL 10 must employ FIPS 140-3-approved cryptographic hashing algorithms for all stored passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-281221	RHEL-10-600730	SV-281221r1166615_rule	CCI-004062	high
Description
The system must use a strong hashing algorithm to store the password. Passwords must be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000073-GPOS-00041, SRG-OS-000120-GPOS-00061
STIG			Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide			2026-03-11

Details

Check Text (C-281221r1166615_chk)

Verify RHEL 10 employs FIPS 140-3-approved cryptographic hashing algorithms for all stored passwords for interactive user accounts with the following command: $ sudo cut -d: -f2 /etc/shadow $6$kcOnRq/5$NUEYPuyL.wghQwWssXRcLRFiiru7f5JPV6GaJhNC2aK5F3PZpE/BCCtwrxRc/AInKMNX3CdMw11m9STiql12f/ Password hashes "!" or "*" indicate inactive accounts not available for login and are not evaluated. If any interactive user password hash does not begin with "$6", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-85687r1166614_fix)

Configure RHEL 10 to employ FIPS 140-3-approved cryptographic hashing algorithms for all stored passwords. Lock all interactive user accounts not using SHA-512 hashing until the passwords can be regenerated with SHA-512.