RHEL 9 must ensure the password complexity module is enabled in the password-auth file.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258097 | RHEL-09-611040 | SV-258097r1045193_rule | CCI-004066 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Enabling 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, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-14 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-258097r1045193_chk)
Verify RHEL 9 uses "pwquality" to enforce the password complexity rules in the password-auth file with the following command:
$ 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 (SA) 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-61762r926277_fix)
Configure RHEL 9 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