STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 8 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 8 must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used.

DISA Rule

SV-230359r1017171_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-230359

Group Title

SRG-OS-000071-GPOS-00039

Rule Version

RHEL-08-020130

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-004066 - For password-based authentication, enforce organization-defined composition and complexity rules.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure the operating system to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used by setting the "dcredit" option.

Add the following line to /etc/security/pwquality.conf (or modify the line to have the required value):

dcredit = -1

Remove any configurations that conflict with the above value.

Check Contents

Verify the value for "dcredit" with the following command:

$ sudo grep -r dcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf*

/etc/security/pwquality.conf:dcredit = -1

If the value of "dcredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.
If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-230359

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-08-020130

Severity Override Guidance

Verify the value for "dcredit" with the following command:

$ sudo grep -r dcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf*

/etc/security/pwquality.conf:dcredit = -1

If the value of "dcredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.
If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

2921