RHEL 9 must configure the use of the pam_faillock.so module in the /etc/pam.d/password-auth file.

Documentable No

Rule ID SV-258096r1045191_rule

CCI References

CCI-000044

Discussion

If the pam_faillock.so module is not loaded, the system will not correctly lockout accounts to prevent password guessing attacks.

Check Procedure

Verify the pam_faillock.so module is present in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file:

$ grep pam_faillock.so /etc/pam.d/password-auth

auth required pam_faillock.so preauth
auth required pam_faillock.so authfail
account required pam_faillock.so

If the pam_faillock.so module is not present in the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file with the "preauth" line listed before pam_unix.so, this is a finding.

If the system administrator (SA) can demonstrate that the required configuration is contained in a PAM configuration file included or substacked from the system-auth file, this is not a finding.

Fix Action

Configure RHEL 9 to include the use of the pam_faillock.so module in the /etc/pam.d/password-auth file. If PAM is managed with authselect, enable the feature with the following command:
 
$ sudo authselect enable-feature with-faillock

Otherwise, add/modify the appropriate sections of the "/etc/pam.d/password-auth" file to match the following lines:
Note: The "preauth" line must be listed before pam_unix.so.

auth required pam_faillock.so preauth
auth required pam_faillock.so authfail
account required pam_faillock.so