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RHEL 9 must disable account identifiers (individuals, groups, roles, and devices) after 35 days of inactivity.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-258049 RHEL-09-411050 SV-258049r926134_rule Medium
Description
Inactive identifiers pose a risk to systems and applications because attackers may exploit an inactive identifier and potentially obtain undetected access to the system. Disabling inactive accounts ensures that accounts which may not have been responsibly removed are not available to attackers who may have compromised their credentials. Owners of inactive accounts will not notice if unauthorized access to their user account has been obtained.
STIG Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-61790r926132_chk )
Verify that RHEL 9 account identifiers (individuals, groups, roles, and devices) are disabled after 35 days of inactivity with the following command:

Check the account inactivity value by performing the following command:

$ sudo grep -i inactive /etc/default/useradd

INACTIVE=35

If "INACTIVE" is set to "-1", a value greater than "35", or is commented out, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-61714r926133_fix)
Configure RHEL 9 to disable account identifiers after 35 days of inactivity after the password expiration.

Run the following command to change the configuration for useradd:

$ sudo useradd -D -f 35

The recommendation is 35 days, but a lower value is acceptable.