Password policy minimum length is below 14 characters
- Severity
- Low
- Service
- IAM
- Check ID
- PASSWORD_POLICY_CHARACTER_MINIMUM
What this check finds
CIS v5.0 (1.7) requires a minimum password length of 14 characters. Setting a password policy does not impact existing users, so after setting this, you should ensure users reset their passwords to comply.
Passing looks like: Password policy requires at least 14 characters.
How to fix it
Increase the minimum password length to at least 14 characters.
AWS CLI
aws iam update-account-password-policy --minimum-password-length 14
Names in capitals are placeholders for your own resource. Review a command before you run it.
AWS console
IAM → Account settings → Edit password policy.
Compliance controls it is evidence for
A failing result counts against these controls in KloudLytics; a passing one is evidence towards them. How compliance mapping works
| Framework | Controls |
|---|---|
| CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark v5.0.0 |
|
| PCI-DSS v4.0.1 |
|
| HIPAA Security Rule |
|
| SOC 2 — Trust Services Criteria |
|
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev5 (Moderate) |
|
| NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 |
|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A |
|
Checked on every scan
KloudLytics runs this check each time it scans a connected AWS account, through a read-only role, and lists every affected resource with its region. On Pro and Business a fix is written for the specific resource rather than the general case above. The exact access it needs
More IAM checks
- HighDeprecated or flawed AWS managed policy in use
- HighIAM role allows assumption from anywhere
- HighIAM role with admin privileges can be assumed by unexpected principals
- HighIAM role with s3 listing and get privileges can be assumed by unexpected principals
- HighIAM user access key has not been rotated in over 180 days
- HighIncorrect policy used to attempt to enforce MFA
- HighInline policy allows privilege escalation to admin
- HighPrincipal has an attached policy granting administrative access