TMA-WIN10-1.1.5

Ensure 'Password must meet complexity requirements' is set to 'Enabled'

HighLevel 1Automatedwindows

Description

This policy setting checks all new passwords to ensure that they meet basic requirements for strong passwords. When this policy is enabled, passwords must meet the following minimum requirements: • Not contain the user's account name or parts of the user's full name that exceed two consecutive characters • Be at least six characters in length • Contain characters from three of the following categories: o English uppercase characters (A through Z) o English lowercase characters (a through z) o Base 10 digits (0 through 9) o Non-alphabetic characters (for example, !, $, #, %) o A catch-all categ

How it is checked

Audit method: Shell command

shell

$f = Join-Path $env:TEMP ('tmaegis-' + [guid]::NewGuid().ToString() + '.inf'); secedit /export /cfg $f /areas SECURITYPOLICY USER_RIGHTS /quiet | Out-Null; $c = Get-Content $f -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Remove-Item $f -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; $line = $c | Where-Object { $_ -match '^\s*PasswordComplexity\s*=' } | Select-Object -First 1; $v = if ($line) { ($line -split '=', 2)[1].Trim().Trim('"') } else { $null }; if (($null -ne $v -and [int64]$v -eq 1)) { 'compliant' } else { 'non-compliant: ' + $v }

Expected output: compliant

How it is fixed

Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch

Set through Group Policy (domain policy for domain members): Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Account Policies\Password Policy\Password must meet complexity requirements

Properties

Operating systems: windows-10
Tags: cis-convertedseceditwindows
Reference: CIS Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise Benchmark v4.0.0 - 1.1.5

Check this host

Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.

shell

tmaegis scan --target windows