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The macOS system must limit consecutive failed login attempts to three.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-268428APPL-15-000022SV-268428r1131182_ruleCCI-000044medium
Description
The macOS must be configured to limit the number of failed login attempts to a maximum of three. When the maximum number of failed attempts is reached, the account must be locked for a period of time. This rule protects against malicious users attempting to gain access to the system via brute-force hacking methods. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005, SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128
STIGDate
Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-02-06

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 5 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (6) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

IAC-01.2Authenticate, Authorize and Audit (AAA)
1.00
IAC-02Identification & Authentication for Organizational Users
1.00
IAC-03Identification & Authentication for Non-Organizational Users
1.00
IAC-04Identification & Authentication for Devices
1.00
IAC-05Identification & Authentication for Third-Party Technology Assets, Applications and/or Services (TAAS)
1.00
IAC-22Account Lockout
1.00
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (56) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-10Concurrent Session Control
1.00
AC-12Session Termination
1.00
AC-17(10)Authenticate Remote Commands
1.00
AC-2(1)Automated System Account Management
1.00
AC-2(10)Shared and Group Account Credential Change
1.00
AC-2(11)Usage Conditions
1.00
AC-2(2)Automated Temporary and Emergency Account Management
1.00
AC-2(3)Disable Accounts
1.00
AC-2(4)Automated Audit Actions
1.00
AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00

+46 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

NIST 800-1710 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

3.1.8
1.00
CCI1 mapping
CCI-000044
1.00
NIST CSF 2.00 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

PR.AA-03
1.00

Who does this work

7 NICE work roles and 5 EC-Council certifications.

This is an inference across published mappings, not a single claim by anyone. This check maps to a control, which maps to a Cybersecurity Framework outcome, which NIST assigns to the work roles below. EC-Council separately maps its certifications to those same roles.

A certification prepares someone for a role. It is not evidence that a holder is qualified, and neither NIST nor EC-Council has stated that any certification here addresses this check.

Work-role assignments published by NIST (NICE Framework Components 2.2.0 and the CSF 2.0 OLIR crosswalk). Certification mappings published by EC-Council.

Details

Check Text (C-268428r1131182_chk)

Verify the macOS system is configured to limit consecutive failed login attempts to three with the following command: /usr/bin/pwpolicy -getaccountpolicies 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/tail +2 | /usr/bin/xmllint --xpath '//dict/key[text()="policyAttributeMaximumFailedAuthentications"]/following-sibling::integer[1]/text()' - | /usr/bin/awk '{ if ($1 <= 3) {print "yes"} else {print "no"}}' | /usr/bin/uniq If the result is not "yes", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-72359r1131181_fix)

Configure the macOS system to limit consecutive failed login attempts to three by installing the "com.apple.mobiledevice.passwordpolicy" configuration profile.