Consecutive login attempts for SSH must be limited to 3.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | V-216352 | SRG-OS-000480 | SOL-11.1-040340 | SV-216352r1155799_rule | 2025-11-20 | 3 |
| Description |
|---|
| Setting the authentication login limit to a low value will disconnect the attacker and force a reconnect, which severely limits the speed of such brute-force attacks. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| Determine if consecutive login attempts are limited to 3, and that they are logged. # grep "^MaxAuthTries" /etc/ssh/sshd_config If the output of this command is not "MaxAuthTries 6" and "MaxAuthTriesLog 6" this is a finding. Note: Solaris SSH MaxAuthTries of 6 maps to 3 actual failed attempts. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| The root role is required. Modify the sshd_config file. # pfedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config Locate the lines containing: MaxAuthTries MaxAuthTriesLog Change them to: MaxAuthTries 6 MaxAuthTriesLog 6 Restart the SSH service. # svcadm restart svc:/network/ssh Note: Solaris SSH MaxAuthTries of 6 maps to 3 actual failed attempts. |