---
id: RHEL-07-010180
status: implemented
tag: auth
---

The default password storage mechanism for Ubuntu 16.04, CentOS 7, and Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7 is ``SHA512`` and the tasks in the security role ensure that
the default is maintained.

Deployers can configure a different password storage mechanism by setting the
following Ansible variable:

.. code-block:: yaml

    security_password_encrypt_method: SHA512

.. warning::

    SHA512 is the default on most modern Linux distributions and it meets the
    requirement of the STIG. Do not change the value unless a system has
    a specific need for a different password mechanism.