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The system must limit users to 10 simultaneous system logins, or a site-defined number, in accordance with operational requirements.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
RHEL-06-000319 RHEL-06-000319 RHEL-06-000319_rule Low
Description
Limiting simultaneous user logins can insulate the system from denial of service problems caused by excessive logins. Automated login processes operating improperly or maliciously may result in an exceptional number of simultaneous login sessions.
STIG Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2013-02-05

Details

Check Text ( C-RHEL-06-000319_chk )
Run the following command to ensure the "maxlogins" value is configured for all users on the system:

# grep "maxlogins" /etc/security/limits.conf

You should receive output similar to the following:

* hard maxlogins [MAX]

Where [MAX] represents the value you have chosen.
If it is not similar, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-RHEL-06-000319_fix)
Limiting the number of allowed users and sessions per user can limit risks related to Denial of Service attacks. This addresses concurrent sessions for a single account and does not address concurrent sessions by a single user via multiple accounts. To set the number of concurrent sessions per user add the following line in "/etc/security/limits.conf":

* hard maxlogins [MAX]

Where [MAX] is the maximum number of login sessions allowed.