STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 9 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 9 must enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one lowercase character be used.

DISA Rule

SV-258102r1045207_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258102

Group Title

SRG-OS-000070-GPOS-00038

Rule Version

RHEL-09-611065

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

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

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 9 to enforce password complexity by requiring at least one lowercase character be used by setting the "lcredit" option.

Add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" file or a configuration file in the "/etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/" directory to contain the "lcredit" parameter:

lcredit = -1

Check Contents

Verify that RHEL 9 enforces password complexity by requiring at least one lowercase character.

Check the value for "lcredit" with the following command:

$ grep lcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf

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

If the value of "lcredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-258102

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-611065

Severity Override Guidance

Verify that RHEL 9 enforces password complexity by requiring at least one lowercase character.

Check the value for "lcredit" with the following command:

$ grep lcredit /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf

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

If the value of "lcredit" is a positive number or is commented out, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551