Vulnerability Discussion

Any password, no matter how complex, can eventually be cracked; therefore, passwords need to be changed periodically. If RHEL 9 does not limit the lifetime of passwords and force users to change their passwords, there is the risk that RHEL 9 passwords could be compromised.

Check

Verify the maximum time period for existing passwords is restricted to 60 days with the following commands:

$ sudo awk -F: '$5 > 60 {printf "%s %d\n", $1, $5}' /etc/shadow

$ sudo awk -F: '$5 <= 0 {printf "%s %d\n", $1, $5}' /etc/shadow

If any results are returned that are not associated with a system account, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure noncompliant accounts to enforce a 60-day maximum password lifetime restriction.

passwd -x 60 [user]