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The Photon operating system must not allow empty passwords.

An XCCDF Rule

Description

Accounts with empty or no passwords allow anyone to log on as that account without specifying a password or other forms of authentication. Allowing accounts with empty passwords puts the system at significant risk since only the username is required for access.

ID
SV-266063r1003661_rule
Version
PHTN-40-000247
Severity
Medium
References
Updated

Remediation Templates

A Manual Procedure

Navigate to and open:

/etc/pam.d/system-password or /etc/pam.d/system-auth

Remove the "nullok" argument on the "pam_unix.so" module line.

Note: On vCenter appliances, the equivalent file must be edited under "/etc/applmgmt/appliance", if one exists, for the changes to persist after a reboot.