SV-37938r1: The system boot loader must protect passwords using an MD5 or stronger cryptographic hash. | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Loading benchmark…

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The system boot loader must protect passwords using an MD5 or stronger cryptographic hash.

Description

Discussion Text

If system boot loader passwords are compromised, users with console access to the system may be able to alter the system boot configuration or boot the system into single user or maintenance mode, which could result in Denial of Service or unauthorized privileged access to the system.

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000213

Additional Details

Responsibility

System Administrator

IA Controls

IAIA-1, IAIA-2

References

DPMS Target Red Hat 5 DISA DPMS Target Red Hat 5 2154

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.

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 Definition: oval:mil.disa.fso.rhel11:def:445

if [ ! -f /boot/grub/menu.lst ] && [ ! -f /boot/grub/grub.conf ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
for file in /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/grub.conf; do if [ -f "$file" ]; then grep -E '^[ \t]*password[ \t]+[^ \t]*--md5' "$file" &> /dev/null && echo "PASS" && exit 0; fi; done; echo "FAIL"; exit 1;

Remediation

Consult vendor documentation for procedures concerning the system's boot loader.  Configure the boot loader to hash boot loader passwords using MD5 or a stronger hash.