The macOS system must limit consecutive failed login attempts to three.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-268428	APPL-15-000022	SV-268428r1034224_rule		Medium

Description

The macOS must be configured to limit the number of failed login attempts to a maximum of three. When the maximum number of failed attempts is reached, the account must be locked for a period of time. This rule protects against malicious users attempting to gain access to the system via brute-force hacking methods. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000021-GPOS-00005, SRG-OS-000329-GPOS-00128

STIG	Date
Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-05-05

Details

Check Text (C-72458r1034222_chk)

Verify the macOS system is configured to limit consecutive failed login attempts to three with the following command:

/usr/bin/pwpolicy -getaccountpolicies 2> /dev/null | /usr/bin/tail +2 | /usr/bin/xmllint --xpath '//dict/key[text()="policyAttributeMaximumFailedAuthentications"]/following-sibling::integer[1]/text()' - | /usr/bin/awk '{ if ($1 <= 3) {print "yes"} else {print "no"}}'

If the result is not "yes", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-72359r1034223_fix)

Configure the macOS system to limit consecutive failed login attempts to three by installing the "com.apple.mobiledevice.passwordpolicy" configuration profile or by a directory service.