Operating systems must enforce a 60-day maximum password lifetime restriction.

From Apple OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) Workstation Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000199

SV-72921r1_rule Operating systems must enforce a 60-day maximum password lifetime restriction.

Vulnerability discussion

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

Check content

To check if the password policy is configured to require that users change their password every 60 days, run the following command: sudo pwpolicy getglobalpolicy | tr ' ' '\n' | grep maxMinutesUntilChangePassword If the result is not 'maxMinutesUntilChangePassword=86400', and password policy is not controlled by a directory server, this is a finding.

Fix text

To set the password policy, run the following command: sudo pwpolicy setglobalpolicy 'maxMinutesUntilChangePassword=86400'

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