The Photon operating system must not allow empty passwords.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-266063 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00226 | PHTN-40-000247 | SV-266063r1003661_rule | 2024-07-11 | 2 |
| Description |
|---|
| Accounts with empty or no passwords allow anyone to log on as that account without specifying a password or other forms of authentication. Allowing accounts with empty passwords puts the system at significant risk since only the username is required for access. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| At the command line, run the following command to verify empty passwords are not allowed: # grep nullok /etc/pam.d/system-password /etc/pam.d/system-auth If any results are returned indicating "nullok" is configured on the "pam_unix.so" module, this is a finding. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| Navigate to and open: /etc/pam.d/system-password or /etc/pam.d/system-auth Remove the "nullok" argument on the "pam_unix.so" module line. 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. |