STIGUI
V-252931CAT II — Medium severitySV-252931r1262352_rule

TOSS must require reauthentication when using the "sudo" command.

Rule version TOSS-04-010230 · STIG v2 · 2026-08-20

Discussion

Without reauthentication, users may access resources or perform tasks for which they do not have authorization.

When operating systems provide the capability to escalate a functional capability, it is critical the organization requires the user to reauthenticate when using the "sudo" command.

If the value is set to an integer less than 0, the user's time stamp will not expire and the user will not have to reauthenticate for privileged actions until the user's session is terminated.

Check

Verify the operating system requires reauthentication when using the "sudo" command to elevate privileges.

$ sudo egrep -ir 'timestamp_timeout' /etc/sudoers /etc/sudoers.d /etc/sudoers:Defaults timestamp_timeout=0

If results are returned from more than one file location, this is a finding.

If "timestamp_timeout" is set to a value other than "0" (including negative numbers), is commented out, or is missing , this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the operating system to reauthenticate every invocation of the "sudo" command.

Add the following line to "/etc/sudoers" or a file in "/etc/sudoers.d":

Defaults timestamp_timeout=0

Remove any duplicate definitions.

Identifiers

Group ID
V-252931
Group title
SRG-OS-000373-GPOS-00158
Rule ID
SV-252931r1262352_rule
Check ID
C-56384r1262350_chk
Fix ID
F-56334r1262351_fix