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V-271634

CAT I (High)

OL 9 must not allow blank or null passwords.

Rule ID

SV-271634r1091614_rule

STIG

Oracle Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R5

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

If an account has an empty password, anyone could log in and run commands with the privileges of that account. Accounts with empty passwords should never be used in operational environments.

Check Content

Verify that OL 9 does not allow null passwords with the following command:

$ grep -i nullok /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth

If output is produced, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Remove any instances of the "nullok" option in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" and "/etc/pam.d/system-auth" files to prevent logons with empty passwords.

Note: Manual changes to the listed file may be overwritten by the "authselect" program.