Skip to content

Ensure IAM password policy expires passwords within 90 days or less

IAM password policies can require passwords to be rotated or expired after a given number of days. Security Hub recommends that the password policy expire passwords after 90 days or less. Reducing the password lifetime increases account resiliency against brute force login attempts.

How to fix

Attribute max_password_age of aws_iam_account_password_policy must be non-empty.

Implementation options

Choose the option that matches how you manage Terraform. All options satisfy this control.

Option 1: Terraform AWS provider resources

If you manage resources directly, configure the relevant Terraform AWS provider resources to meet this control. See docs for the resources involved: aws_iam_account_password_policy.

resource "aws_iam_account_password_policy" "this" {
  minimum_password_length = 14
}
Which option should I choose?
  • Compliance.tf module (recommended): controls enforced by default and mapped to frameworks.
  • Open source module (terraform-aws-modules): compatible by design with compliance.tf. Same variable names for an easy, low-change migration path when you are ready.
  • Terraform AWS provider resources: manage Terraform resources directly.

Tool mappings

Use these identifiers to cross-reference this control across tools, reports, and evidence.

  • Compliance.tf (CTF) Control: iam_password_policy_expire_90

  • Checkov Check: CKV_AWS_9

  • Powerpipe Control: aws_compliance.control.iam_password_policy_expire_90