The VMM must require the change of at least 8 of the total number of characters when passwords are changed.

From VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000195

SV-78395r1_rule The VMM must require the change of at least 8 of the total number of characters when passwords are changed.

Vulnerability discussion

To enforce the use of complex passwords, minimum numbers of characters of different classes are mandated. The use of complex passwords reduces the ability of attackers to successfully obtain valid passwords using guessing or exhaustive search techniques. Complexity requirements increase the password search space by requiring users to construct passwords from a larger character set than they may otherwise use.

Check content

From the vSphere Client select the ESXi Host and go to Configuration >> Advanced Settings. Select the Security.PasswordQualityControl value and verify it is set to "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15" or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host run the following command: Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordQualityControl If the Security.PasswordQualityControl setting is not set to "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15", this is a finding.

Fix text

From the vSphere Client select the ESXi Host and go to Configuration >> Advanced Settings. Select the Security.PasswordQualityControl value and configure it to "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15". or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host run the following commands: Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordQualityControl | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value "similar=deny retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,disabled,15"

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