STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS 4.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The Photon operating system must enforce a delay of at least four seconds between logon prompts following a failed logon attempt.

DISA Rule

SV-258869r1210420_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258869

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00226

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000206

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-000366 - Implement the security configuration settings.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Navigate to and open:

/etc/pam.d/system-auth

Add or update the following line:

auth optional pam_faildelay.so delay=4000000

Note: On vCenter appliances, the equivalent file must be edited under "/etc/applmgmt/appliance", if one exists, for the changes to persist after a reboot.

Check Contents

At the command line, run the following command to verify the pam_faildelay.so module is used:

# grep '^auth' /etc/pam.d/system-auth

Example result:

auth required pam_faillock.so preauth
auth sufficient pam_unix.so
auth required pam_faillock.so authfail
auth optional pam_faildelay.so delay=4000000
auth required pam_deny.so

If the pam_faildelay.so module is not present with the delay set to at least four seconds, this is a finding.

Note: The delay is configured in microseconds.

Vulnerability Number

V-258869

Documentable

False

Rule Version

PHTN-40-000206

Severity Override Guidance

At the command line, run the following command to verify the pam_faildelay.so module is used:

# grep '^auth' /etc/pam.d/system-auth

Example result:

auth required pam_faillock.so preauth
auth sufficient pam_unix.so
auth required pam_faillock.so authfail
auth optional pam_faildelay.so delay=4000000
auth required pam_deny.so

If the pam_faildelay.so module is not present with the delay set to at least four seconds, this is a finding.

Note: The delay is configured in microseconds.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5569