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 numeric character be used.

DISA Rule

SV-258103r1045210_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258103

Group Title

SRG-OS-000071-GPOS-00039

Rule Version

RHEL-09-611070

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 numeric character be used by setting the "dcredit" 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 "dcredit" parameter:

dcredit = -1

Check Contents

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

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

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

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

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

Vulnerability Number

V-258103

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-09-611070

Severity Override Guidance

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

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

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

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

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

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5551