AlmaLinux OS 9 must automatically lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-269147 | SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005 | ALMA-09-007500 | SV-269147r1050029_rule | 2026-02-27 | 1 |
Description
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.
ℹ️ Check
Verify AlmaLinux OS 9 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 AlmaLinux OS 9 to lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur using pam_faillock.
First, enable the feature using the following command:
$ authselect enable-feature with-faillock
Then, add or update the following line in the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" file:
deny = 3