The Photon operating system must automatically lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256479	PHTN-30-000002	SV-256479r887111_rule		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. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005, SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-02-21

Details

Check Text ( C-60154r887109_chk )
At the command line, run the following commands: # grep pam_tally2 /etc/pam.d/system-auth Expected result: auth required pam_tally2.so deny=3 onerr=fail audit even_deny_root unlock_time=900 root_unlock_time=300 # grep pam_tally2 /etc/pam.d/system-account Expected result: account required pam_tally2.so onerr=fail audit If the output does not list the "pam_tally2" options as configured in the expected results, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-60154r887109_chk )

At the command line, run the following commands:

# grep pam_tally2 /etc/pam.d/system-auth

Expected result:

auth required pam_tally2.so deny=3 onerr=fail audit even_deny_root unlock_time=900 root_unlock_time=300

# grep pam_tally2 /etc/pam.d/system-account

Expected result:

account required pam_tally2.so onerr=fail audit

If the output does not list the "pam_tally2" options as configured in the expected results, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60097r887110_fix)
Navigate to and open: /etc/pam.d/system-auth Remove any existing "pam_tally2.so" line and add the following line after the "pam_unix.so" statement: auth required pam_tally2.so deny=3 onerr=fail audit even_deny_root unlock_time=900 root_unlock_time=300 Navigate to and open: /etc/pam.d/system-account Remove any existing "pam_tally2.so" line and add the following line after the "pam_unix.so" statement: account required pam_tally2.so onerr=fail audit 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.

Fix Text (F-60097r887110_fix)

Navigate to and open:

/etc/pam.d/system-auth

Remove any existing "pam_tally2.so" line and add the following line after the "pam_unix.so" statement:

auth required pam_tally2.so deny=3 onerr=fail audit even_deny_root unlock_time=900 root_unlock_time=300

Navigate to and open:

/etc/pam.d/system-account

Remove any existing "pam_tally2.so" line and add the following line after the "pam_unix.so" statement:

account required pam_tally2.so onerr=fail audit

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.