SLEM 5 must not be configured to allow blank or null passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-261386	SLEM-05-611055	SV-261386r996587_rule		High

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.

STIG	Date
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro (SLEM) 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-05-08

Details

Check Text (C-65115r996023_chk)

Verify SLEM 5 is not configured to allow blank or null passwords with the following command:

> grep pam_unix.so /etc/pam.d/* | grep nullok

If this produces any output, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-65023r996024_fix)

Configure SLEM 5 to not allow blank or null passwords.

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