The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that when passwords are changed the number of repeating consecutive characters must not be more than three characters.

From Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Part of SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040

Associated with: CCI-000195

SV-86539r3_rule The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that when passwords are changed the number of repeating consecutive characters must not be more than three characters.

Vulnerability discussion

Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks.Password complexity is one factor of several that determines how long it takes to crack a password. The more complex the password, the greater the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised.

Check content

The "maxrepeat" option sets the maximum number of allowed same consecutive characters in a new password. Check for the value of the "maxrepeat" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command: # grep maxrepeat /etc/security/pwquality.conf maxrepeat = 3 If the value of "maxrepeat" is set to more than "3", this is a finding.

Fix text

Configure the operating system to require the change of the number of repeating consecutive characters when passwords are changed by setting the "maxrepeat" option. Add the following line to "/etc/security/pwquality.conf conf" (or modify the line to have the required value): maxrepeat = 3

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