SV-224873r982195: Windows Server 2016 must have the built-in Windows password complexity policy enabled. | Microsoft Windows Server 2016 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

Windows Server 2016 must have the built-in Windows password complexity policy enabled.

Description

Discussion Text

The use of complex passwords increases their strength against attack. The built-in Windows password complexity policy requires passwords to contain at least three of the four types of characters (numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and special characters) and prevents the inclusion of user names or parts of user names. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037, SRG-OS-000070-GPOS-00038, SRG-OS-000071-GPOS-00039, SRG-OS-000266-GPOS-00101

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000192Not mappedCCI-000193Not mappedCCI-000194Not mappedCCI-001619SV-87975V-73323

References

DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2016 DISA DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2016 4205

Checks

OVAL

oval:mil.disa.stig.windows:var:101800 ← xccdf_mil.disa.stig_value_password_complexity_var

DISA STIG (Manual Reference)

Verify the effective setting in Local Group Policy Editor.

Run "gpedit.msc".

Navigate to Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy.

If the value for "Password must meet complexity requirements" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding.

For server core installations, run the following command:

Secedit /Export /Areas SecurityPolicy /CFG C:\Path\FileName.Txt

If "PasswordComplexity" equals "0" in the file, this is a finding.

Note: If an external password filter is in use that enforces all four character types and requires this setting to be set to "Disabled", this would not be considered a finding. If this setting does not affect the use of an external password filter, it must be enabled for fallback purposes.

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.

# Windows PowerShell
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.windows:def:1018
# Windows Server 2016 must have the built-in Windows password complexity policy enabled.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# Verifies 'Password must meet complexity requirements' is set to 'Enabled'
# passwordpolicy_object (passwordpolicy_test)
function test_1 {
  return (($__tmp = "$env:TEMP\scc_securitypolicy_$([guid]::NewGuid().Guid).cfg"; secedit /export /cfg $__tmp /areas SECURITYPOLICY /quiet | Out-Null; $__m = Select-String -Path $__tmp -Pattern '^PasswordComplexity\s*=\s*(\d+)'; Remove-Item $__tmp -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; if ($__m) { $__m.Matches[0].Groups[1].Value.Trim() } else { '' }) -eq '1')
}

if (test_1) {
  Write-Output "PASS"
} else {
  Write-Output "FAIL"
}

Assessment Script Powered by AISyntax-verified

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

Syntax-checked as valid PowerShell. Not executed here — running it for real needs the actual ms_windows_server_2016 target this check assesses.

# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.windows:def:1018
$passwordPolicy = Get-CimInstance -ClassName MSAccountPolicy_PasswordSettings -Namespace "root\rsop\computer"
if ($passwordPolicy -and $passwordPolicy.PasswordComplexityRequirements -eq 1) { Write-Output "PASS"; Exit 0 } else { Write-Output "FAIL"; Exit 1 }

Remediation

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy >> "Password must meet complexity requirements" to "Enabled".