Details

Limiting the number of logon attempts over a certain time interval reduces the chances that an unauthorized user may gain access to an account.

Solution

Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce a delay of at least 4 seconds between logon prompts following a failed logon attempt.

Edit the file ‘/etc/pam.d/common-auth’ and set the parameter ‘pam_faildelay’ to a value of 4000000 or greater:

auth required pam_faildelay.so delay=4000000

Supportive Information

The following resource is also helpful.

• https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_CAN_Ubuntu_18-04_LTS_V2R4_STIG.zip

This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Configuration Management.This control applies to the following type of system Unix.

References

• 800-53|CM-6b.
• CAT|III
• CCI|CCI-000366
• Rule-ID|SV-219164r610963_rule
• STIG-ID|UBTU-18-010031
• STIG-Legacy|SV-109659
• STIG-Legacy|V-100555
• Vuln-ID|V-219164

Source

• Tenable.com/audits