RHEL 9 must require the change of at least four character classes when passwords are changed.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-258115RHEL-09-611130SV-258115r1045238_ruleCCI-004066medium
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 a password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.
STIGDate
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide2025-05-14

Related Frameworks

6 paths across 3 frameworks
NIST 800-531 mapping
  • DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
NIST 800-1714 mappings
3.5.10
1.00
  • DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
  • NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
3.5.7
1.00
  • DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
  • NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
3.5.8
1.00
  • DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
  • NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
3.5.9
1.00
  • DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
  • NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
CCI1 mapping
CCI-004066
1.00
  • DISA · 2 · disa_xccdf · related

Details

Check Text (C-258115r1045238_chk)

Verify that RHEL 9 requires passwords to contain at least four character classes. $ grep minclass /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf minclass = 4 If the value of "minclass" is set to less than "4", or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61780r1045237_fix)

Configure RHEL 9 to require the change of at least four character classes when passwords are changed by setting the "minclass" option. Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/" directory to contain the "minclass" parameter: minclass = 4