The /etc/passwd file must not contain password hashes.

From Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-50300r1_rule The /etc/passwd file must not contain password hashes.

Vulnerability discussion

The hashes for all user account passwords should be stored in the file "/etc/shadow" and never in "/etc/passwd", which is readable by all users.

Check content

To check that no password hashes are stored in "/etc/passwd", run the following command: # awk -F: '($2 != "x") {print}' /etc/passwd If it produces any output, then a password hash is stored in "/etc/passwd". If any stored hashes are found in /etc/passwd, this is a finding.

Fix text

If any password hashes are stored in "/etc/passwd" (in the second field, instead of an "x"), the cause of this misconfiguration should be investigated. The account should have its password reset and the hash should be properly stored, or the account should be deleted entirely.

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