RHEL 9 must enforce a delay of at least four seconds between logon prompts following a failed logon attempt.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258071 | RHEL-09-412050 | SV-258071r991588_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| Increasing the time between a failed authentication attempt and reprompting to enter credentials helps to slow a single-threaded brute force attack. |
| STIG | Date |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-14 |
Details
| Check Text (C-61812r926198_chk) |
| Verify RHEL 9 enforces a delay of at least four seconds between console logon prompts following a failed logon attempt with the following command: $ grep -i fail_delay /etc/login.defs FAIL_DELAY 4 If the value of "FAIL_DELAY" is not set to "4" or greater, or the line is commented out, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-61736r926199_fix) |
| Configure the RHEL 9 to enforce a delay of at least four seconds between logon prompts following a failed console logon attempt. Modify the "/etc/login.defs" file to set the "FAIL_DELAY" parameter to 4 or greater: FAIL_DELAY 4 |