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XCCDF
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide
SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040
RHEL 8 must require the change of at least 8 characters when passwords are changed.
RHEL 8 must require the change of at least 8 characters when passwords are changed.
An XCCDF Rule
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RHEL 8 must require the change of at least 8 characters when passwords are changed.
Medium Severity
<VulnDiscussion>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. RHEL 8 utilizes "pwquality" as a mechanism to enforce password complexity. The "difok" option sets the number of characters in a password that must not be present in the old password.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>