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APPL-15-000022 The macOS system must limit consecutive failed login attempts to three.

DISA STIG library V1R8
All changes in this version
first version loaded CAT II

Maps to AC-7 via CCI-000044, CCI-002238

Title

The macOS system must limit consecutive failed login attempts to three.

Control

Verify the macOS system is configured to limit consecutive failed login attempts to three with the following command: /usr/bin/pwpolicy -getaccountpolicies 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/tail +2 | /usr/bin/xmllint --xpath '//dict/key[text()="policyAttributeMaximumFailedAuthentications"]/following-sibling::integer[1]/text()' - | /usr/bin/awk '{ if ($1 <= 3) {print "yes"} else {print "no"}}' | /usr/bin/uniq If the result is not "yes", this is a finding.

Discussion

The macOS must be configured to limit the number of failed login attempts to a maximum of three. When the maximum number of failed attempts is reached, the account must be locked for a period of time. This rule protects against malicious users attempting to gain access to the system via brute-force hacking methods. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005, SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128

Related controls

CCI-000044, CCI-002238

Fix

Configure the macOS system to limit consecutive failed login attempts to three by installing the "com.apple.mobiledevice.passwordpolicy" configuration profile.