VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

The VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide (V2 R3) has 107 STIG checks. New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist?, CKL vs CKLB, and STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

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Severity

Version

V2 · R3

CurrentPublished Wed Sep 30 2026 What changed in V2R3

The Photon operating system must not allow empty passwords.

VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Photon operating system must not allow empty passwords.

Description

Discussion Text

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.

New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist? and CKL vs CKLB.

Objective

V-266063

Rule

SV-266063r1003661_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000247

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

At the command line, run the following command to verify empty passwords are not allowed:

# grep nullok /etc/pam.d/system-password /etc/pam.d/system-auth

If any results are returned indicating "nullok" is configured on the "pam_unix.so" module, this is a finding.

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

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.

STIG check 106 of 107 in the VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 STIG checklist

← Previous · V-266062The Photon operating system must configure AIDE to detect changes to baseline configurations.Next · V-285222 →The Photon operating system must be configured to use the pam_deny.so module.