The built-in Microsoft password complexity filter must be enabled.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-220746	SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037	WN10-AC-000040	SV-220746r1051023_rule	2025-02-25	3

Description
The use of complex passwords increases their strength against guessing and brute-force attacks. This setting configures the system to verify that newly created passwords conform to the Windows password complexity policy.

ℹ️ Check
Verify the effective setting in Local Group Policy Editor. Run "gpedit.msc". Navigate to Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy. If the value for "Password must meet complexity requirements" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding. If the site is using a password filter that requires this setting be set to "Disabled" for the filter to be used, this would not be considered a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Verify the effective setting in Local Group Policy Editor. Run "gpedit.msc". Navigate to Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy. If the value for "Password must meet complexity requirements" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding. If the site is using a password filter that requires this setting be set to "Disabled" for the filter to be used, this would not be considered a finding.

✔️ Fix
Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy >> "Password must meet complexity requirements" to "Enabled".