RHEL 10 must automatically lock the root account until the root account is released by an administrator when three unsuccessful login attempts occur during a 15-minute time period.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-281195RHEL-10-600415SV-281195r1166537_ruleCCI-002238medium
Description
By limiting the number of failed login attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, also known as brute-forcing, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the account. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128, SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005
STIGDate
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-03-11

Related Frameworks

3 paths across 3 frameworks
NIST 800-531 mapping
AC-7
1.00
  • DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
NIST 800-1711 mapping
3.1.8
1.00
  • DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related
  • DISA · 2025-01-23 · disa_cci_list · equivalent
  • NIST · Rev 2 (Feb 2020, errata Jan 2021) · nist_800_171_app_d · equivalent
CCI1 mapping
CCI-002238
1.00
  • DISA · V1R1 · disa_xccdf · related

Details

Check Text (C-281195r1166537_chk)

Verify RHEL 10 is configured to lock the root account after three unsuccessful login attempts with the following command: $ sudo grep even_deny_root /etc/security/faillock.conf even_deny_root If the "even_deny_root" option is not set or is missing or commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-85661r1166536_fix)

Configure RHEL 10 to lock out the "root" account after a number of incorrect login attempts using "pam_faillock.so". Enable the feature using the following command: $ sudo authselect enable-feature with-faillock Edit the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" by uncommenting or adding the following line: even_deny_root