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RHEL 8 must require the maximum number of repeating characters be limited to three when passwords are changed.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-230361RHEL-08-020150SV-230361r1017173_ruleCCI-000195medium
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 the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. RHEL 8 utilizes "pwquality" as a mechanism to enforce password complexity. The "maxrepeat" option sets the maximum number of allowed same consecutive characters in a new password.
STIGDate
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide2025-05-14

Related Frameworks

2 mappings across 4 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (3) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

IAC-10Authenticator Management
0.50
IAC-10.1Password-Based Authentication
0.50
IAC-10.4Automated Support For Password Strength
0.50
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (64) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-10Concurrent Session Control
1.00
AC-12Session Termination
1.00
AC-17(10)Authenticate Remote Commands
1.00
AC-2(1)Automated System Account Management
1.00
AC-2(10)Shared and Group Account Credential Change
1.00
AC-2(11)Usage Conditions
1.00
AC-2(2)Automated Temporary and Emergency Account Management
1.00
AC-2(3)Disable Accounts
1.00
AC-2(4)Automated Audit Actions
1.00
AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00

+54 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

NIST 800-1710 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (4) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

3.5.10
1.00
3.5.7
1.00
3.5.8
1.00
3.5.9
1.00
CCI2 mappings
CCI-000195
1.00
CCI-004066
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-230361r1017173_chk)

Check for the value of the "maxrepeat" option with the following command: $ sudo grep -r maxrepeat /etc/security/pwquality.conf* /etc/security/pwquality.conf:maxrepeat = 3 If the value of "maxrepeat" is set to more than "3" or is commented out, this is a finding. If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-33005r858778_fix)

Configure the operating system to require the change of the number of repeating consecutive characters when passwords are changed by setting the "maxrepeat" option. Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf conf" (or modify the line to have the required value): maxrepeat = 3 Remove any configurations that conflict with the above value.