AlmaLinux OS 9 must enforce password complexity rules for the root account.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-269388	SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037	ALMA-09-036100	SV-269388r1050271_rule	2025-02-20	1

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. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

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. Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

ℹ️ Check
Verify that AlmaLinux OS 9 enforces password complexity rules for the root account. Check if root user is required to use complex passwords with the following command: $ grep enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf:# enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/stig.conf:enforce_for_root If "enforce_for_root" is commented or missing, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Verify that AlmaLinux OS 9 enforces password complexity rules for the root account. Check if root user is required to use complex passwords with the following command: $ grep enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf:# enforce_for_root /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/stig.conf:enforce_for_root If "enforce_for_root" is commented or missing, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to enforce password complexity on the root account. Add or update the following line in /etc/security/pwquality.conf: enforce_for_root Note: Unlike most Linux tools, pam_pwquality does not override its defaults with those in a drop-in file, so edit /etc/security/pwquality.conf and not use a file in /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/ or comment out the setting in /etc/security/pwquality.conf if using a drop-in file.

✔️ Fix

Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to enforce password complexity on the root account. Add or update the following line in /etc/security/pwquality.conf: enforce_for_root Note: Unlike most Linux tools, pam_pwquality does not override its defaults with those in a drop-in file, so edit /etc/security/pwquality.conf and not use a file in /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/ or comment out the setting in /etc/security/pwquality.conf if using a drop-in file.