Passwords must have a minimum of 15-characters.

From Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000205

SV-90157r2_rule Passwords must have a minimum of 15-characters.

Vulnerability discussion

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

Check content

Verify that the Ubuntu operating system enforces a minimum "15" character password length, by running the following command: # grep -i minlen /etc/security/pwquality.conf minlen=15 If "minlen" parameter value is not "15" or higher, or is commented out, this is a finding.

Fix text

Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce a minimum 15-character password length. Add, or modify the "minlen" parameter value to the following line in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file: minlen=15

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