UBTU-16-010260 - The Ubuntu operating system must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Information

If the Ubuntu operating system 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.

Solution

Configure the Ubuntu operating system 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

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_CAN_Ubuntu_16-04_LTS_V2R3_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6b., CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000366, Rule-ID|SV-214964r610931_rule, STIG-ID|UBTU-16-010260, STIG-Legacy|SV-90161, STIG-Legacy|V-75481, Vuln-ID|V-214964

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 96aa46d5c59f5a6cd6f62c12ee6d162e24ba1fb00c771e8724615fbdae776853