5.4.1.2 Ensure minimum days between password changes is 7 or more - login.defs

Information

The PASS_MIN_DAYS parameter in /etc/login.defs allows an administrator to prevent users from changing their password until a minimum number of days have passed since the last time the user changed their password. It is recommended that PASS_MIN_DAYS parameter be set to 7 or more days.

Rationale:

By restricting the frequency of password changes, an administrator can prevent users from repeatedly changing their password in an attempt to circumvent password reuse controls.

Solution

Set the PASS_MIN_DAYS parameter to 7 in /etc/login.defs :

PASS_MIN_DAYS 7

Modify user parameters for all users with a password set to match:

# chage --mindays 7 <user>

Notes:

You can also check this setting in /etc/shadow directly. The 4th field should be 7 or more for all users with a password.

This Benchmark recommendation maps to:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide:

Version 2, Release: 3 Benchmark Date: 26 Apr 2019



Vul ID: V-71925

Rule ID: SV-86549r2_rule

STIG ID: RHEL-07-010230

Severity: CAT II



Vul ID: V-71927

Rule ID: SV-86551r2_rule

STIG ID: RHEL-07-010240

Severity: CAT II

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2688

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(1), CSCv7|4.4

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 47fe922bbb9e8a75010196def71f9bf0e67dd8bd595ef56013383455db557e11