RHEL-09-671025 - RHEL 9 pam_unix.so module must be configured in the password-auth file to use a FIPS 140-3 approved cryptographic hashing algorithm for system authentication.

Information

Unapproved mechanisms that are used for authentication to the cryptographic module are not verified and; therefore, cannot be relied upon to provide confidentiality or integrity, and DOD data may be compromised.

RHEL 9 systems utilizing encryption are required to use FIPS-compliant mechanisms for authenticating to cryptographic modules.

FIPS 140-3 is the current standard for validating that mechanisms used to access cryptographic modules utilize authentication that meets DOD requirements. This allows for Security Levels 1, 2, 3, or 4 for use on a general-purpose computing system.

Solution

Configure RHEL 9 to use a FIPS 140-3 approved cryptographic hashing algorithm for system authentication.

Edit/modify the following line in the '/etc/pam.d/password-auth' file to include the sha512 option for pam_unix.so:

password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_RHEL_9_V2R1_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(1)(d), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-004062, Rule-ID|SV-258233r997115_rule, STIG-ID|RHEL-09-671025, Vuln-ID|V-258233

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 199f9171c6b1d05fc3725f0dd4854a14f9aaab636342299343ac566d84ab5949