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pwpolicy_account_lockout_enforce Limit Consecutive Failed Login Attempts to $ODV

NIST macOS Security Compliance Project Sequoia Guidance, Revision 4.0 (be5491f)
All changes in this version
first version loaded Password policy

Title

Limit Consecutive Failed Login Attempts to $ODV

Control

/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 <= $ODV) {print "pass"} else {print "fail"}}' | /usr/bin/uniq

Discussion

The macOS _MUST_ be configured to limit the number of failed login attempts to a maximum of $ODV. When the maximum number of failed attempts is reached, the account _MUST_ be locked for a period of time after.

This rule protects against malicious users attempting to gain access to the system via brute-force hacking methods.

Related controls

ac-7

Fix

This is implemented by a Configuration Profile.