SV-274140r1120408: Amazon Linux 2023 must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords. | Amazon Linux 2023 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

Amazon Linux 2023 must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Description

Discussion Text

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. If Amazon Linux 2023 allows the user to select passwords based on dictionary words, this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the opportunity for successful guesses, and brute-force attacks. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00225, SRG-OS-000710-GPOS-00160

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000366Not mappedCCI-004061

References

DPMS Target Amazon Linux 2023 DISA DPMS Target Amazon Linux 2023 5700

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

#!/bin/bash
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.amzlx23os:def:274140
# Amazon Linux 2023 must prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# passwords must not be dictionary words
# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_1() {
  ( [ "$(sed -En 's/^\s*dictcheck\s*=\s*([-\d]+)\s*(?:#.*)?$/\1/p' '/etc/security/pwquality.conf')" -ne 0 ] ) || ( [ "$(grep -rhP --include='*.conf' '^\s*dictcheck\s*=\s*([-\d]+)\s*(?:#.*)?$' '/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d' | sed -En 's/^\s*dictcheck\s*=\s*([-\d]+)\s*(?:#.*)?$/\1/p')" -ne 0 ] )
}

if test_1; then
  echo "PASS"
else
  echo "FAIL"
fi

Assessment Script Powered by AISandbox-executed

A standalone Shell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked and actually executed in an isolated sandbox (not the real system this checks) — confirmed to run without errors.

#!/bin/sh
# oval:mil.disa.stig.amzlx23os:def:274140

if grep -q '^\\s*dictcheck\\s*=\\s*1\\s*$' /etc/security/pwquality.conf || \
   grep -q '^\\s*dictcheck\\s*=\\s*1\\s*$' /etc/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf; then
    echo "PASS"
    exit 0
else
    echo "FAIL"
    exit 1
fi

Remediation

Configure Amazon Linux 2023 to prevent the use of dictionary words for passwords.

Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the /etc/pwquality.conf.d/ directory to contain the "dictcheck" parameter:

dictcheck=1