{"id":3679,"date":"2019-02-27T22:07:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T16:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=3679"},"modified":"2026-10-10T17:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T12:14:02","slug":"maximum-password-attempts-centos-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/maximum-password-attempts-centos-7\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Maximum Password Attempts in CentOS 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Post Date: February 27, 2019 Last Updated: October 09, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Configuring the maximum password attempts in CentOS 7<\/strong> is an important step toward improving Linux server security. The Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) framework provides options for managing password policies and password-entry retries. In this tutorial, you will learn how to configure the password retry limit in CentOS 7 by reviewing the pam_pwquality.so<\/code> setting in the \/etc\/pam.d\/system-auth<\/code> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before proceeding, ensure that you have the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A server running CentOS 7.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Root access or a user account with sudo privileges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Basic knowledge of Linux commands and text editors such as Nano or Vim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Access to the \/etc\/pam.d\/system-auth<\/code> configuration file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
A backup of the existing PAM configuration files before making any changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Steps to Set Maximum Password Attempts in CentOS 7<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1 :<\/strong> In the \/etc\/pam.d directory, You will find the system-auth file .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
# cd \/etc\/pam.d<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
# ls -la<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Step 2:
<\/strong>Open system-auth <\/strong>file using nano editor. On opening with nano editor, you can see the complete file as shown below. Edit statement pam_pwquality.so<\/strong>. You can change retry=3<\/strong> or make it even lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In CentOS, this can be easily set by editing the pam_pwquality.so<\/strong> statement present in \/etc\/pam.d\/system-auth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, we have successfully finished configuring the max password login attempts per session for your CentOS 7 server<\/strong>. If you need any assistance Please reach out to here. Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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