AlmaLinux OS 9 must not allow blank or null passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-269218	ALMA-09-015750	SV-269218r1050100_rule		Medium

Description

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.

STIG	Date
CloudLinux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-05-22

Details

Check Text (C-73249r1048030_chk)

Verify that null passwords cannot be used with the following command:

$ grep -i nullok /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth

If output is produced, 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-73150r1048031_fix)

Remove any instances of the "nullok" option in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" and "/etc/pam.d/system-auth" files to prevent logons with empty passwords.

Note: Manual changes to the listed file may be overwritten by the "authselect" program.