Details

To enforce the use of complex passwords, minimum numbers of characters of different classes are mandated. The use of complex passwords reduces the ability of attackers to successfully obtain valid passwords using guessing or exhaustive search techniques. Complexity requirements increase the password search space by requiring users to construct passwords from a larger character set than they may otherwise use.

NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

From the vSphere Client, go to Administration >> Single Sign-On >> Configuration >> Policies >> Password Policy.

Click ‘Edit’.

Set ‘Special Characters’ to at least ‘1’ and click ‘OK’.

Supportive Information

The following resource is also helpful.

• https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_VMW_vSphere_6-7_STIG.zip

This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Identification and Authentication.This control applies to the following type of system VMware.

References

• 800-53|IA-5(1)(a)
• CAT|II
• CCI|CCI-001619
• Rule-ID|SV-243103r719552_rule
• STIG-ID|VCTR-67-000043
• Vuln-ID|V-243103

Source

• Tenable.com/audits