---
title: "HOST-PAM-005 Minimum Password Age Not Set"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-PAM-005.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-PAM-005.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# HOST-PAM-005 Minimum Password Age Not Set

Checks that a password cannot be changed again on the same day it was set.

- Domain: Server
- Severity: Low
- Control category: Identity and Authentication
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 5.2
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.AA-01
- CWE: CWE-262
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A07:2021
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: IA-5(1)
- Benchmark topic: Minimum days between password changes (CIS Controls v8 5.2) (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

Password history (HOST-PAM-004) only works if users cannot cycle through several changes in a minute to get back to a favourite password. PASS_MIN_DAYS 1 closes that loop with no real cost to users.

## How It Detects

Reads PASS_MIN_DAYS from /etc/login.defs; 1 or more passes. An unset value fails, because the built-in default does not meet the requirement. Skipped when the file does not exist; Incomplete when it cannot be read.

## How to Fix

Set  PASS_MIN_DAYS 1  in /etc/login.defs, and for existing accounts  chage --mindays 1 <user> .

## How to Verify

```
grep '^PASS_MIN_DAYS' /etc/login.defs
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P22 Authentication Policy and Package Hygiene](https://openvapt.com/academy/p22.md)

## References

- [login.defs(5), Linux man-pages](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/login.defs.5.html)
- [NIST SP 800-63B-4, Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Authenticator Management](https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-4/sp800-63b.html)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/host/pam_login.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only HOST-PAM-005`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain HOST-PAM-005`.

---

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