AlmaLinux OS 9 must automatically lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur during a 15-minute time period.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-269149 | ALMA-09-007720 | SV-269149r1184091_rule | CCI-000044 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-force attacks, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the account. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Cloud Linux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-02-27 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-269149r1184091_chk)
Verify AlmaLinux OS 9 locks an account after three unsuccessful logon attempts within a period of 15 minutes with the following command:
$ grep fail_interval /etc/security/faillock.conf
fail_interval = 900
If the "fail_interval" option is not set to 900 or less (but not 0), the line is commented out, or the line is missing, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-73081r1049207_fix)
Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to lock an account after a number of incorrect login attempts within 15 minutes using pam_faillock.
First, enable the feature using the following command:
$ authselect enable-feature with-faillock
Then, add or uncomment the following line in the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" file:
fail_interval = 900