The Photon operating system must require that new passwords are at least four characters different from the old password.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-256501 | PHTN-30-000024 | SV-256501r982198_rule | CCI-000195 | medium |
| 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. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-12-16 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-256501r982198_chk)
At the command line, run the following command:
# grep pam_cracklib /etc/pam.d/system-password|grep --color=always "difok=."
Expected result:
password requisite pam_cracklib.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=8 minclass=4 difok=4 retry=3 maxsequence=0 enforce_for_root
If the output does not include difok >= 4, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-60119r887176_fix)
Navigate to and open:
/etc/pam.d/system-password
Add the following, replacing any existing "pam_cracklib.so" line:
password requisite pam_cracklib.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=8 minclass=4 difok=4 retry=3 maxsequence=0 enforce_for_root
Note: On vCenter appliances, the equivalent file must be edited under "/etc/applmgmt/appliance", if one exists, for the changes to persist after a reboot.