Information
The account lockout duration value determines how long an account retains the status of lockout, and therefore how long before a user can continue to attempt to login after passing the lockout threshold.
Account lockout is a method of protecting against brute-force and password spray attacks. Once the lockout threshold has been exceeded, the account enters a locked-out state which prevents all login attempts for a variable duration. The lockout in combination with a reasonable duration reduces the total number of failed login attempts that a malicious actor can execute in a given period of time.
NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.
Solution
Remediate from Azure Portal
- From Azure Home select the Portal Menu.
- Select Microsoft Entra ID
- Under Manage select Security
- Under Manage select Authentication methods
- Under Manage select Password protection
- Set the Lockout duration in seconds to 60 or higher.
- Click Save
Impact:
If account lockout duration is set too low (less than 60 seconds), malicious actors can perform more password spray and brute-force attempts over a given period of time.
If the account lockout duration is set too high (more than 300 seconds) users may experience inconvenient delays during lockout.