The network device must be configured to verify, when users create or update passwords, the passwords are not found on the list of commonly used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5 (1) (a) for password-based authentication.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-264299	SRG-APP-000845	SRG-APP-000845-NDM-000220	SV-264299r1067634_rule	2025-02-11	5

Description
Password-based authentication applies to passwords regardless of whether they are used in single-factor or multifactor authentication. Long passwords or passphrases are preferable over shorter passwords. Enforced composition rules provide marginal security benefits while decreasing usability. However, organizations may choose to establish certain rules for password generation (e.g., minimum character length for long passwords) under certain circumstances and can enforce this requirement in IA-5(1)(h). Account recovery can occur, for example, in situations when a password is forgotten. Cryptographically protected passwords include salted one-way cryptographic hashes of passwords. The list of commonly used, compromised, or expected passwords includes passwords obtained from previous breach corpuses, dictionary words, repetitive or sequential characters, and default manufacturer passwords. The list includes context-specific words, such as the name of the service, username, and derivatives thereof.

Description

Password-based authentication applies to passwords regardless of whether they are used in single-factor or multifactor authentication. Long passwords or passphrases are preferable over shorter passwords. Enforced composition rules provide marginal security benefits while decreasing usability. However, organizations may choose to establish certain rules for password generation (e.g., minimum character length for long passwords) under certain circumstances and can enforce this requirement in IA-5(1)(h). Account recovery can occur, for example, in situations when a password is forgotten. Cryptographically protected passwords include salted one-way cryptographic hashes of passwords. The list of commonly used, compromised, or expected passwords includes passwords obtained from previous breach corpuses, dictionary words, repetitive or sequential characters, and default manufacturer passwords. The list includes context-specific words, such as the name of the service, username, and derivatives thereof.

ℹ️ Check
Verify the network device is configured to verify when users create or update passwords, that the passwords are not found on the list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5 (1) (a), including default manufacturer passwords. If the network device is not configured to verify when users create or update passwords, that the passwords are not found on the list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5 (1) (a), this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Verify the network device is configured to verify when users create or update passwords, that the passwords are not found on the list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5 (1) (a), including default manufacturer passwords. If the network device is not configured to verify when users create or update passwords, that the passwords are not found on the list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5 (1) (a), this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Configure the network device to verify when users create or update passwords; to ensure the passwords are not found on the list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5 (1) (a); a change to any default manufacturer passwords.