| name | cis-ubuntu1204-v110-9-2-1 |
| description | Set Password Creation Requirement Parameters Using pam_cracklib |
| category | cis-os-hardening |
| version | 1.1.0 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["cis","ubuntu",12.04,"linux","authentication","pam","password-policy"] |
| cis_id | 9.2.1 |
| cis_benchmark | CIS Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server Benchmark v1.1.0 |
| tech_stack | ["ubuntu","linux"] |
| cwe_ids | [] |
| chains_with | [] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {} |
9.2.1 Set Password Creation Requirement Parameters Using pam_cracklib (Scored)
Profile Applicability
Description
The pam_cracklib module checks the strength of passwords. It performs checks such as making sure a password is not a dictionary word, it is a certain length, contains a mix of characters (e.g. alphabet, numeric, other) and more. The following are definitions of the pam_cracklib.so options:
retry=3 - Allow 3 tries before sending back a failure.
minlen=14 - password must be 14 characters or more
dcredit=-1 - provide at least one digit
ucredit=-1 - provide at least one uppercase character
ocredit=-1 - provide at least one special character
lcredit=-1 - provide at least one lowercase character
The setting shown above is one possible policy. Alter these values to conform to your own organization's password policies.
Rationale
Strong passwords protect systems from being hacked through brute force methods.
Audit Procedure
Using Command Line
Perform the following to determine the current settings in the /etc/pam.d/common-password file:
grep pam_cracklib.so /etc/pam.d/common-password
Expected Result
password required pam_cracklib.so retry=3 minlen=14 dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 ocredit=-1 lcredit=-1
Remediation
Using Command Line
Set the pam_cracklib.so parameters as follows in /etc/pam.d/common-password:
password required pam_cracklib.so retry=3 minlen=14 dcredit=-1 ucredit=-1 ocredit=-1 lcredit=-1
Default Value
No password creation requirements are set by default.
References
- CIS Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server Benchmark v1.1.0
Profile
Level 1 - Scored