5.5.1.9 Ensure inactive password lock is 0 days

Information

The operating system must disable account identifiers (individuals, groups, roles, and devices) if the password expires.

Inactive identifiers pose a risk to systems and applications because attackers may exploit an inactive identifier and potentially obtain undetected access to the system. Owners of inactive accounts will not notice if unauthorized access to their user account has been obtained.

Operating systems need to track periods of inactivity and disable application identifiers after zero days of inactivity.

Solution

Configure the operating system to disable account identifiers (individuals, groups, roles, and devices) after the password expires.

Add the following line to /etc/default/useradd (or modify the line to have the required value):

Example: vim /etc/default/useradd

Add, uncomment or update the following line:

INACTIVE=0

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/8415

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

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

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: ac709872aa22cbed68fce8e8f15d584ed72b70f1d8146ade7d976c3ee370e6db