The Photon operating system must enforce a delay of at least four seconds between logon prompts following a failed logon attempt.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258869 | PHTN-40-000206 | SV-258869r933668_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Limiting the number of logon attempts over a certain time interval reduces the chances that an unauthorized user may gain access to an account. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2023-10-29 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-258869r933668_chk)
At the command line, run the following command to verify the pam_faildelay.so module is used:
# grep '^auth' /etc/pam.d/system-auth
Example result:
auth required pam_faillock.so preauth
auth required pam_unix.so
auth required pam_faillock.so authfail
auth optional pam_faildelay.so delay=4000000
If the pam_faildelay.so module is not present with the delay set to at least four seconds, this is a finding.
Note: The delay is configured in milliseconds.
Fix Text (F-62518r933667_fix)
Navigate to and open:
/etc/pam.d/system-auth
Add or update the following line:
auth optional pam_faildelay.so delay=4000000
Note: On vCenter appliances, the equivalent file must be edited under "/etc/applmgmt/appliance", if one exists, for the changes to persist after a reboot.