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

RHEL 10 must not allow blank or null passwords.

DISA Rule

SV-281200r1166552_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-281200

Group Title

SRG-OS-000069-GPOS-00037

Rule Version

RHEL-10-600455

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 prohibit the use of null passwords.

If PAM is managed with "authselect", use the following command to remove instances of "nullok":

$ sudo authselect enable-feature without-nullok

Otherwise, remove any instances of the "nullok" option in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" and "/etc/pam.d/system-auth" files to prevent logins with empty passwords.

Note: Manual changes to the listed file may be overwritten by the "authselect" program.

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 10 prohibits the use of null passwords with the following command:

$ sudo grep -i nullok /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth

If output is produced, this is a finding.

If the system administrator (SA) can demonstrate that the required configuration is contained in a PAM configuration file included or substacked from the "system-auth" file, this is not a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-281200

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-10-600455

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 10 prohibits the use of null passwords with the following command:

$ sudo grep -i nullok /etc/pam.d/system-auth /etc/pam.d/password-auth

If output is produced, this is a finding.

If the system administrator (SA) can demonstrate that the required configuration is contained in a PAM configuration file included or substacked from the "system-auth" file, this is not a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5733