STIGQter: STIG Summary: Cloud Linux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 7 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

AlmaLinux OS 9 must be configured so that the Pluggable Authentication Module is configured to store only encrypted representations of passwords.

DISA Rule

SV-269401r1050284_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-269401

Group Title

SRG-OS-000073-GPOS-00041

Rule Version

ALMA-09-037530

Severity

CAT I

CCI(s)

• CCI-004062 - For password-based authentication, store passwords using an approved salted key derivation function, preferably using a keyed hash.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to use the SHA-512 algorithm for password hashing.

Edit/modify the following line in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file to include the sha512 option for pam_unix.so:

password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 shadow rounds=100000 use_authtok

Check Contents

Verify that the pam_unix.so module is configured to use sha512 in /etc/pam.d/password-auth with the following command:

$ grep -E "password.*pam_unix.so.*sha512" /etc/pam.d/password-auth

password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 shadow rounds=100000 use_authtok

If "sha512" is missing, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-269401

Documentable

False

Rule Version

ALMA-09-037530

Severity Override Guidance

Verify that the pam_unix.so module is configured to use sha512 in /etc/pam.d/password-auth with the following command:

$ grep -E "password.*pam_unix.so.*sha512" /etc/pam.d/password-auth

password sufficient pam_unix.so sha512 shadow rounds=100000 use_authtok

If "sha512" is missing, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5664