Amazon Linux 2023 must automatically lock the root account until the root account is released by an administrator when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur during a 15-minute time period.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-274155 | AZLX-23-002460 | SV-274155r1120453_rule | CCI-002238 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the account. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Amazon Linux 2023 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-02-27 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-274155r1120453_chk)
Verify Amazon Linux 2023 is configured to lock the root account after three unsuccessful logon attempts with the command:
$ grep even_deny_root /etc/security/faillock.conf
even_deny_root
If the "even_deny_root" option is not set, is missing or commented out, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-78151r1120452_fix)
Configure Amazon Linux 2023 to lock out the "root" account after a number of incorrect login attempts using "pam_faillock.so", first enable the feature using the following command:
$ sudo authselect enable-feature with-faillock
Then edit the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" file as follows:
add or uncomment the following line:
even_deny_root