Minimum password length is below 12
At a glance
Base severity
Area
Platform
Evidence level
Benchmark reference
Reads the export, not the device
ConfigProof reads a configuration export. This control is evaluated against the objects in that file, and it reports what the file says. It does not connect to the device and sees no traffic, so a finding here describes the configuration, not what the firewall is doing right now.
Why it matters
A short administrator password is faster to guess online and to crack from a captured hash.
How to fix it
Web interface
The steps below are written for the web interface. A finding raised on your own export carries the same steps with your object names filled in.
- Enable minimum password complexity and set the minimum length to 12 or more.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set mgt-config password-complexity enabled yesset mgt-config password-complexity minimum-length 12
An example. Values in angle brackets are yours to supply; a finding on your own export fills in the names it read. Nothing here commits. Review the candidate configuration, then commit it yourself.
Read it back
show mgt-config password-complexityHow to confirm the fix
- Reopen Device, Setup, Management, Minimum Password Complexity and confirm the value.
- Change a test administrator's password and confirm a weaker one is refused.
Limits
- Applies to local administrator passwords only; accounts that authenticate against RADIUS, LDAP, TACACS+ or SAML follow the server's policy.
- On a Panorama each template stack is judged as its firewalls receive it: its own settings first, then its members in order. A stack holding a template this file lacks is recorded rather than passed.
Compliance references
CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0
Covers the whole recommendation
Where a control aligns with a recommendation of the CIS Palo Alto Firewall 11 Benchmark v1.2.0, that recommendation is cited as a reference. Only that version was checked. A reference is not a certification.
More in Administrators and Access
- PAN-SEC-046Administrator has no central authentication profile
- PAN-SEC-096Management interface accepts HTTPS or SSH from any address
- PAN-SEC-097Management interface allows HTTP or Telnet
- PAN-SEC-118Minimum password complexity is not enabled
- PAN-SEC-120Passwords need no uppercase letter
- PAN-SEC-121Passwords need no lowercase letter
- PAN-SEC-122Passwords need no digit
- PAN-SEC-123Passwords need no special character
See it on your own firewall
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