The Cisco switch must be configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts, after which time it must disconnect the session.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-220480	CISC-ND-000150	SV-220480r960840_rule		Medium

Description

By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced.

STIG	Date
Cisco NX OS Switch NDM Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-05-19

Details

Check Text (C-22195r802430_chk)

Review the Cisco switch configuration to verify that it enforces the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts as shown in the example below:

ssh login-attempts 3

If the Cisco switch is not configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts, this is a finding.

NOTE: The NX-OS switch does not lock out the account, it disconnects the session. The AAA server will lock out the user account on three failed attempts.

Fix Text (F-22184r802431_fix)

Configure the Cisco switch to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts as shown in the example below:

SW2(config)# ssh login-attempts 3