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RHEL 8 passwords for new users must have a minimum of 15 characters.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-230370RHEL-08-020231SV-230370r1017182_ruleCCI-000205medium
Description
The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. Use of more characters in a password helps to increase exponentially the time and/or resources required to compromise the password. The DoD minimum password requirement is 15 characters.
STIGDate
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-02-05

Related Frameworks

1 mapping 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 (48) 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

+38 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
CCI1 mapping
CCI-000205
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-230370r1017182_chk)

Verify that RHEL 8 enforces a minimum 15-character password length for new user accounts by running the following command: $ sudo grep -i pass_min_len /etc/login.defs PASS_MIN_LEN 15 If the "PASS_MIN_LEN" parameter value is less than "15", or commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-33014r567857_fix)

Configure operating system to enforce a minimum 15-character password length for new user accounts. Add, or modify the following line in the "/etc/login.defs" file: PASS_MIN_LEN 15