SV-214960r610931: Passwords for new users must have a 60-day maximum password lifetime restriction. | Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Security Technical Implementation Guide

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

Passwords for new users must have a 60-day maximum password lifetime restriction.

Description

Discussion Text

Any password, no matter how complex, can eventually be cracked. Therefore, passwords need to be changed periodically. If the Ubuntu operating system does not limit the lifetime of passwords and force users to change their passwords, there is the risk that the Ubuntu operating system passwords could be compromised.

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000199V-75473SV-90153

References

DPMS Target Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS DISA DPMS Target Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4011

Checks

DISA STIG (Manual Reference)

Verify that the Ubuntu operating system enforces a 60-day maximum password lifetime for new user accounts by running the following command:

# grep -i pass_max_days /etc/login.defs
PASS_MAX_DAYS    60

If the "PASS_MAX_DAYS" parameter value is less than "60", or commented out, this is a finding.

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

#!/bin/bash
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.ubuntu1604:def:118
# Passwords for new users must have a 60-day maximum password lifetime restriction.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_1() {
  ( [ "$(sed -En 's/^\s*PASS_MAX_DAYS\s+(\d*)/\1/p' '/etc/login.defs')" -gt 0 ] ) && ( [ "$(sed -En 's/^\s*PASS_MAX_DAYS\s+(\d*)/\1/p' '/etc/login.defs')" -le 60 ] )
}

if test_1; then
  echo "PASS"
else
  echo "FAIL"
fi

Assessment Script Powered by AISandbox-executed

A standalone Shell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked and actually executed in an isolated sandbox (not the real system this checks) — confirmed to run without errors.

#!/bin/sh
# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.ubuntu1604:def:118
if [ ! -f "/etc/login.defs" ]; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; fi
if grep -q "^\\s*PASS_MAX_DAYS\\s+\\d*" /etc/login.defs && \
   awk '{if ($0 ~ /^\\s*PASS_MAX_DAYS\\s+(\\d+)/) print $2}' /etc/login.defs | \
   grep -qE '^[0-5][0-9]$' && \
   awk '{if ($0 ~ /^\\s*PASS_MAX_DAYS\\s+(\\d+)/) print $2}' /etc/login.defs | \
   grep -qE '^60$'; then echo "PASS"; exit 0; else echo "FAIL"; exit 1; fi

Remediation

Configure the Ubuntu operating system to enforce a 60-day maximum password lifetime.

Add, or modify the following line in the "/etc/login.defs" file:

PASS_MAX_DAYS    60