Amazon Linux 2023 must automatically lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-274154 | SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128 | AZLX-23-002455 | SV-274154r1120450_rule | 2026-05-22 | 1 |
Description
By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the account.
ℹ️ Check
Verify Amazon Linux 2023 is configured to lock an account after three unsuccessful logon attempts with the command:
$ grep 'deny =' /etc/security/faillock.conf
deny = 3
If the "deny" option is not set to "3" or less (but not "0"), is missing or commented out, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Configure Amazon Linux 2023 to lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur.
Add/modify the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" file to match the following line:
deny = 3