7.1.3 Set Password Expiring Warning Days - PASS_WARN_AGE >= 7

Information

The PASS_WARN_AGE parameter in /etc/login.defs allows an administrator to notify users that their password will expire in a defined number of days. It is recommended that the PASS_WARN_AGE parameter be set to 7 or more days.

Rationale:

Providing an advance warning that a password will be expiring gives users time to think of a secure password. Users caught unaware may choose a simple password or write it down where it may be discovered.

Solution

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

PASS_WARN_AGE 7

Modify active user parameters to match:

# chage --warndays 7 <user>

Default Value:

OS Default: No

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3096

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

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

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 13bf1ab48a3a1a66ba84cfde2e0112f4c6dcbdfd83369331803c2f3ee19c57bc