RHEL 8 must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-230377 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00225 | RHEL-08-020300 | SV-230377r1017188_rule | 2025-03-26 | 2 |
| Description |
|---|
| If RHEL 8 allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses, and brute-force attacks. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| Verify RHEL 8 prevents the use of dictionary words for passwords. Determine if the field "dictcheck" is set with the following command: $ sudo grep -r dictcheck /etc/security/pwquality.conf* /etc/security/pwquality.conf:dictcheck=1 If the "dictcheck" parameter is not set to "1", or is commented out, this is a finding. If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| Configure RHEL 8 to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords. Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the /etc/pwquality.conf.d/ directory to contain the "dictcheck" parameter: dictcheck=1 Remove any configurations that conflict with the above value. |