5.2.6 Ensure Complex Password Must Contain Uppercase and Lowercase Characters Is Configured

Information

Complex passwords contain one character from each of the following classes: English uppercase letters, English lowercase letters, Westernized Arabic numerals, and non-alphanumeric characters.

Ensure that both uppercase and lowercase letters are part of the password policy on the computer.

The more complex a password, the more resistant it will be against persons seeking unauthorized access to a system.

Solution

Run the following command to set passwords to require an upper and lower case letter:

% /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/pwpolicy -n /Local/Default -setglobalpolicy "requiresMixedCase=<value>=1>"

Impact:

Password policy should be in effect to reduce the risk of exposed services being compromised easily through dictionary attacks or other social engineering attempts.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/17465

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(1), CSCv7|4.4

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 8112b38e37056bef4ced5c11097f23c1d12b2a1d3853988028e0c23669f8eb4a