A system, method, and computer program product are provided for implementing hardware backed symmetric operations for password based authentication. In operation, a system receives a request to access software utilizing password-based authentication. Further, the system receives a password for the password-based authentication. The system computes a hash utilizing the password and a hardware-based authenticator associated with hardware of the system utilizing hardware backed symmetric encryption. Moreover, the system verifies that the hash computed utilizing the password and the hardware-based authenticator is correct for accessing the software.