diff --git a/lib/puppet/parser/functions/pw_hash.rb b/lib/puppet/parser/functions/pw_hash.rb
index 67346efeb..a99a3ea29 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/parser/functions/pw_hash.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/parser/functions/pw_hash.rb
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@
   |bcrypt-x |2x    |bug compatible       |
   |bcrypt-y |2y    |historic alias for 2b|
 
-  The third argument to this function is the salt to use.
+  The third argument to this function is the salt to use. For bcrypt-type hashes,
+  the first two characters of the salt represent a strength parameter, with a value
+  between 4 and 31 inclusive.
 
   @return [String]
     Provides a crypt hash usable on most POSIX systems.
@@ -48,10 +50,10 @@
     'md5'       => { prefix: '1' },
     'sha-256'   => { prefix: '5' },
     'sha-512'   => { prefix: '6' },
-    'bcrypt'    => { prefix: '2b', salt: %r{^[0-9]{2}\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
-    'bcrypt-a'  => { prefix: '2a', salt: %r{^[0-9]{2}\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
-    'bcrypt-x'  => { prefix: '2x', salt: %r{^[0-9]{2}\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
-    'bcrypt-y'  => { prefix: '2y', salt: %r{^[0-9]{2}\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
+    'bcrypt'    => { prefix: '2b', salt: %r{^(0[4-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
+    'bcrypt-a'  => { prefix: '2a', salt: %r{^(0[4-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
+    'bcrypt-x'  => { prefix: '2x', salt: %r{^(0[4-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
+    'bcrypt-y'  => { prefix: '2y', salt: %r{^(0[4-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\$[./A-Za-z0-9]{22}} },
   }
 
   raise ArgumentError, 'pw_hash(): first argument must be a string' unless args[0].is_a?(String) || args[0].nil?
diff --git a/spec/functions/pw_hash_spec.rb b/spec/functions/pw_hash_spec.rb
index f7a827d7f..595f136eb 100644
--- a/spec/functions/pw_hash_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/functions/pw_hash_spec.rb
@@ -58,6 +58,17 @@
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-y', '1234').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
   end
 
+  context 'when the third argument has an invalid strength parameter for bcrypt' do
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt', '03$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-a', '03$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-x', '03$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-y', '03$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt', '32$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-a', '32$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-x', '32$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+    it { is_expected.to run.with_params('password', 'bcrypt-y', '32$salt.salt.salt.salt.sa').and_raise_error(ArgumentError, %r{characters in salt must match}) }
+  end
+
   context 'when running on a platform with a weak String#crypt implementation' do
     before(:each) { allow_any_instance_of(String).to receive(:crypt).with('$1$1').and_return('a bad hash') } # rubocop:disable RSpec/AnyInstance : Unable to find a viable replacement