STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 10 must require the change of at least eight characters when passwords are changed.

DISA Rule

SV-281185r1195433_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-281185

Group Title

SRG-OS-000072-GPOS-00040

Rule Version

RHEL-10-600260

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

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

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 10 to require the change of at least eight of the total number of characters when passwords are changed by setting the "difok" 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 "difok" parameter:

difok = 8

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 10 requires the change of at least eight characters when passwords are changed by checking the value of the "difok" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command:

$ sudo grep difok -s /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:difok = 8

If the value of "difok" is set to less than "8" or is commented out, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-281185

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-10-600260

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 10 requires the change of at least eight characters when passwords are changed by checking the value of the "difok" option in "/etc/security/pwquality.conf" with the following command:

$ sudo grep difok -s /etc/security/pwquality.conf /etc/security/pwquality.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/security/pwquality.conf:difok = 8

If the value of "difok" is set to less than "8" or is commented out, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5733