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V-220576

CAT II (Medium)

The Cisco switch must be configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts, after which time it must lock out the user account from accessing the device for 15 minutes.

Rule ID

SV-220576r960840_rule

STIG

Cisco IOS Switch NDM Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R7

CCIs

CCI-000044

Discussion

By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced.

Check Content

Review the Cisco switch configuration to verify that it enforces the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts as shown in the example below:

login block-for 900 attempts 3 within 120

Note: The configuration example above will block any logon attempt for 15 minutes after three consecutive invalid logon attempts within a two-minute period.

If the Cisco switch is not configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the Cisco switch to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts as shown in the example below:

SW2(config)#login block-for 900 attempts 3 within 120