The Photon operating system must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258853 | PHTN-40-000184 | SV-258853r991587_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| If the operating system allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, then this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses and brute-force attacks. |
| STIG | Date |
| VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-07-11 |
Details
| Check Text (C-62593r933618_chk) |
| At the command line, run the following command to verify passwords do not match dictionary words: # grep '^password.*pam_pwquality.so' /etc/pam.d/system-password Example result: password requisite pam_pwquality.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=15 difok=8 enforce_for_root dictcheck=1 If the "dictcheck" option is not set to 1, is missing or commented out, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-62502r933619_fix) |
| Navigate to and open: /etc/pam.d/system-password Configure the pam_pwquality.so line to have the "dictcheck" option set to "1" as follows: password requisite pam_pwquality.so dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 lcredit=-1 ocredit=-1 minlen=15 difok=8 enforce_for_root dictcheck=1 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. |