1.1.1.1.3.1 Set 'Maximum password age' to '60' or less

Information

This policy setting defines how long a user can use their password before it expires. Values for this policy setting range from 0 to 999 days. If you set the value to 0, the password will never expire. The default value for this policy setting is 42 days. Because attackers can crack passwords, the more frequently you change the password the less opportunity an attacker has to use a cracked password. However, the lower this value is set, the higher the potential for an increase in calls to help desk support due to users having to change their password or forgetting which password is current. The longer a password exists the higher the likelihood that it will be compromised by a brute force attack, by an attacker gaining general knowledge about the user, or by the user sharing the password. Configuring the Maximum password age setting to 0 so that users are never required to change their passwords is a major security risk because that allows a compromised password to be used by the malicious user for as long as the valid user is authorized access.

Solution

Navigate to the Group Policy UI path expressed in the Audit procedure and set Maximum password age as recommended.

Impact- If the Maximum password age setting is too low, users are required to change their passwords very often. Such a configuration can reduce security in the organization, because users might write their passwords in an insecure location or lose them. If the value for this policy setting is too high, the level of security within an organization is reduced because it allows potential attackers more time in which to discover user passwords or to use compromised accounts.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/42

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(1), CCE|CCE-3530-3

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: cc5114588498a7d29181ca173d96226c4b89f3d531e19d72da0c5eff2753e0b5