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V-258821

CAT II (Medium)

The Photon operating systems must enforce a 90-day maximum password lifetime restriction.

Rule ID

SV-258821r933524_rule

STIG

VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R1

CCIs

CCI-000199

Discussion

Any password, no matter how complex, can eventually be cracked. Therefore, passwords need to be changed periodically. If the operating system does not limit the lifetime of passwords and force users to change their passwords, there is the risk that the operating system passwords could be compromised.

Check Content

At the command line, run the following command to verify a 90-day maximum password lifetime restriction:

# grep '^PASS_MAX_DAYS' /etc/login.defs

If "PASS_MAX_DAYS" is not set to <= 90, is missing or commented out, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Navigate to and open:

/etc/login.defs

Add or update the following line: 

PASS_MAX_DAYS 90