diff --git a/common/djangoapps/external_auth/views.py b/common/djangoapps/external_auth/views.py
index 4dacd99d28..99f14ffa2a 100644
--- a/common/djangoapps/external_auth/views.py
+++ b/common/djangoapps/external_auth/views.py
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ def default_render_failure(request,
 
 def generate_password(length=12, chars=string.letters + string.digits):
     """Generate internal password for externally authenticated user"""
-    return ''.join([random.choice(chars) for i in range(length)])
+    choice = random.SystemRandom().choice
+    return ''.join([choice(chars) for i in range(length)])
 
 
 @csrf_exempt