Check: PHTN-30-000002
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS STIG:
PHTN-30-000002
(in versions v1 r3 through v1 r1)
Title
The Photon operating system must automatically lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur. (Cat II impact)
Discussion
By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-force attacks, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the account. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005, SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128
Check Content
At the command line, run the following commands: # grep pam_tally2 /etc/pam.d/system-auth Expected result: auth required pam_tally2.so deny=3 onerr=fail audit even_deny_root unlock_time=900 root_unlock_time=300 # grep pam_tally2 /etc/pam.d/system-account Expected result: account required pam_tally2.so onerr=fail audit If the output does not list the "pam_tally2" options as configured in the expected results, this is a finding.
Fix Text
Navigate to and open: /etc/pam.d/system-auth Remove any existing "pam_tally2.so" line and add the following line after the "pam_unix.so" statement: auth required pam_tally2.so deny=3 onerr=fail audit even_deny_root unlock_time=900 root_unlock_time=300 Navigate to and open: /etc/pam.d/system-account Remove any existing "pam_tally2.so" line and add the following line after the "pam_unix.so" statement: account required pam_tally2.so onerr=fail audit Note: On vCenter appliances, the equivalent file must be edited under "/etc/applmgmt/appliance", if one exists, for the changes to persist after a reboot.
Additional Identifiers
Rule ID: SV-256479r887111_rule
Vulnerability ID: V-256479
Group Title: SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005
Expert Comments
CCIs
Number | Definition |
---|---|
CCI-000044 |
The information system enforces the organization-defined limit of consecutive invalid logon attempts by a user during the organization-defined time period. |
CCI-002238 |
The information system automatically locks the account or node for either an organization-defined time period, until the locked account or node is released by an administrator, or delays the next logon prompt according to the organization-defined delay algorithm when the maximum number of unsuccessful logon attempts is exceeded. |
Controls
Number | Title |
---|---|
AC-7 |
Unsuccessful Logon Attempts |