Users are not warned in advance that their passwords will expire.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-1172	3.054	SV-1172r1_rule	ECSC-1	Low

Description
This setting configures the system to display a warning to users telling them how many days are left before their password expires. By giving the user advanced warning, the user has time to construct a sufficiently strong password.

STIG	Date
Windows XP Security Technical Implementation Guide	2013-10-01

Details

Check Text ( C-137r1_chk )
Analyze the system using the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in. Expand the Security Configuration and Analysis tree view. Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options. If the value for “Interactive Logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration” is not set to “14" days or more, then this is a finding. The policy referenced configures the following registry value: Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry Path: \Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ Value Name: PasswordExpiryWarning Value Type: REG_DWORD Value: 14

Check Text ( C-137r1_chk )

Analyze the system using the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in.
Expand the Security Configuration and Analysis tree view.
Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options.

If the value for “Interactive Logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration” is not set to “14" days or more, then this is a finding.

The policy referenced configures the following registry value:

Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path: \Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

Value Name: PasswordExpiryWarning

Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 14

Fix Text (F-114r1_fix)
Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options -> “Interactive Logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration” to “14” days or more.