STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 4 Benchmark Date: 30 Jan 2025:

The Photon operating system must prohibit password reuse for a minimum of five generations.

DISA Rule

SV-256506r982201_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-256506

Group Title

SRG-OS-000077-GPOS-00045

Rule Version

PHTN-30-000029

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000366 - Implement the security configuration settings.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Navigate to and open:

/etc/pam.d/system-password

Add the following line after the "password requisite pam_cracklib.so" statement:

password requisite pam_pwhistory.so enforce_for_root use_authtok remember=5 retry=3

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.

Check Contents

At the command line, run the following command:

# grep pam_pwhistory /etc/pam.d/system-password|grep --color=always "remember=."

Expected result:

password requisite pam_pwhistory.so enforce_for_root use_authtok remember=5 retry=3

If the output does not include the "remember=5" setting as shown in the expected result, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-256506

Documentable

False

Rule Version

PHTN-30-000029

Severity Override Guidance

At the command line, run the following command:

# grep pam_pwhistory /etc/pam.d/system-password|grep --color=always "remember=."

Expected result:

password requisite pam_pwhistory.so enforce_for_root use_authtok remember=5 retry=3

If the output does not include the "remember=5" setting as shown in the expected result, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5520