DISA STIGS Viewer

OL 9 system-auth must be configured to use a sufficient number of hashing rounds.

Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-271626 OL09-00-001070 SV-271626r1091590_rule   Medium
Description
Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Passwords that are encrypted with a weak algorithm are no more protected than if they are kept in plain text. Using more hashing rounds makes password cracking attacks more difficult. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000073-GPOS-00041, SRG-OS-000120-GPOS-00061
STIG Date
Oracle Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2025-05-08

Details

Check Text (C-75676r1091588_chk)
Verify that OL 9 system-auth is configured to use a sufficient number of hashing rounds with the following command:

$ sudo grep rounds /etc/pam.d/system-auth
password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 rounds=100000

If a matching line is not returned or "rounds" is less than 100000, this a finding.
Fix Text (F-75583r1091589_fix)
Configure Oracle Linux 9 to use 100000 hashing rounds for hashing passwords.

Add or modify the following line in "/etc/pam.d/system-auth" and set "rounds" to 100000.

password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 rounds=100000'