cis-ubuntu2004-v300-5-3-2-2

DevOps & Security

Ensure pam_faillock module is enabled

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5.3.2.2 Ensure pam_faillock module is enabled (Automated)

Profile Applicability

Level 1 - Server
Level 1 - Workstation

Description

The pam_faillock.so module maintains a list of failed authentication attempts per user during a specified interval and locks the account in case there were more than the configured number of consecutive failed authentications (this is defined by the deny parameter in the faillock configuration). It stores the failure records into per-user files in the tally directory.

Rationale

Locking out user IDs after n unsuccessful consecutive login attempts mitigates brute force password attacks against your systems.

Audit Procedure

Command Line

Run the following commands to verify that pam_faillock is enabled:

# grep -P -- '\bpam_faillock\.so\b' /etc/pam.d/common-{auth,account}

Expected Result

Output should be similar to:

/etc/pam.d/common-auth:auth   requisite   pam_faillock.so preauth
/etc/pam.d/common-auth:auth   [default=die]   pam_faillock.so authfail
/etc/pam.d/common-account:account   required   pam_faillock.so

Remediation

Command Line

Create two pam-auth-update profiles in /usr/share/pam-configs/:

Create the faillock profile in /usr/share/pam-configs/ with the following lines:

Name: Enable pam_faillock to deny access
Default: yes
Priority: 0
Auth-Type: Primary
Auth:
        [default=die]           pam_faillock.so authfail

Example Script:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

{
  arr=('Name: Enable pam_faillock to deny access' 'Default: yes' 'Priority: 0' 'Auth-Type: Primary' 'Auth:' '        [default=die]           pam_faillock.so authfail')
  printf '%s\n' "${arr[@]}" > /usr/share/pam-configs/faillock
}

Create the faillock_notify profile in /usr/share/pam-configs/ with the following lines:

Name: Notify of failed login attempts and reset count upon success
Default: yes
Priority: 1024
Auth-Type: Primary
Auth:
        requisite           pam_faillock.so preauth
Account-Type: Primary
Account:
        required           pam_faillock.so

Example Script:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

{
  arr=('Name: Notify of failed login attempts and reset count upon success' 'Default: yes' 'Priority: 1024' 'Auth-Type: Primary' 'Auth:' '        requisite                       pam_faillock.so preauth' 'Account-Type: Primary' 'Account:' '        required                       pam_faillock.so')
  printf '%s\n' "${arr[@]}" > /usr/share/pam-configs/faillock_notify
}

Run the following command to update the common-auth and common-account PAM files with the new profiles:

# pam-auth-update --enable <profile_filename>

Example:

# pam-auth-update --enable faillock
# pam-auth-update --enable faillock_notify

Note:

The name used for the file must be used in the pam-auth-update --enable command
The Name: line should be easily recognizable and understood
The Priority: Line is important as it effects the order of the lines in the /etc/pam.d/ files
If a site specific custom profile is being used in your environment to configure PAM that includes the configuration for the pam_faillock module, enable that module instead

References

None listed.

CIS Controls

Controls Version	Control	IG 1	IG 2	IG 3
v8	6.2 Establish an Access Revoking Process	*	*	*
v7	16.7 Establish Process for Revoking Access		*	*

MITRE ATT&CK Mappings

Techniques / Sub-techniques	Tactics	Mitigations
T1110, T1110.001, T1110.003	TA0006	M1027