cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-5-1-4

name	cis-ubuntu1604-v200-5-5-1-4
description	Ensure inactive password lock is 30 days or less
category	cis-iam
version	2.0.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","ubuntu","linux","ubuntu-16.04","authentication","pam"]
cis_id	5.5.1.4
cis_benchmark	CIS Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS Benchmark v2.0.0
tech_stack	["ubuntu","linux"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

Ensure inactive password lock is 30 days or less

Profile Applicability:

• Level 1 - Server
• Level 1 - Workstation

Assessment Status: Automated

Description

User accounts that have been inactive for over a given period of time can be automatically disabled. It is recommended that accounts that are inactive for 30 days after password expiration be disabled.

Rationale

Inactive accounts pose a threat to system security since the users are not logging in to notice failed login attempts or other anomalies.

Audit Procedure

Command Line

Run the following command and verify INACTIVE conforms to site policy (no more than 30 days):

useradd -D | grep INACTIVE

Expected output:

INACTIVE=30

Verify all users with a password have Password inactive no more than 30 days after password expires. Run the following command and Review list of users and INACTIVE to verify that all users' INACTIVE conforms to site policy (no more than 30 days):

awk -F: '(/^[^:]+:[^!*]/ && ($7~/(\s*|-1)/ || $7>30)){print $1 " " $7}' /etc/shadow

Expected Result:

No <user>:<INACTIVE> should be returned.

Remediation

Command Line

Run the following command to set the default password inactivity period to 30 days:

useradd -D -f 30

Modify user parameters for all users with a password set to match:

chage --inactive 30 <user>

Default Value

INACTIVE=-1

Additional Information

A value of -1 would disable this setting.

References

None

CIS Controls

Controls Version	Control
v7	4.4 Use Unique Passwords - Where multi-factor authentication is not supported (such as local administrator, root, or service accounts), accounts will use passwords that are unique to that system.

Profile

• Level 1 - Server
• Level 1 - Workstation