# Ensure Re-authentication for Privilege Escalation Is Enabled Globally

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000235543-ensure-re-authentication-for-privilege-escalation-is-enabled-globally
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [CIS Amazon Linux 2 Benchmark v3.0.0](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112696) › [CIS Amazon Linux 2 Benchmarks](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/62000169265)
- Last updated: 2026-05-29
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

Profile Applicability: • Level 1

Description:  
 Ensuring that re-authentication for privilege escalation is not disabled globally enforces that users must authenticate each time they attempt to escalate privileges, enhancing security by preventing unauthorized persistent access.

Rationale:  
 Requiring repeated authentication reduces risks from unattended sessions or compromised credentials by limiting the duration privileged access is granted without user verification.

Impact:  
 Pros:

-   Enhances security by enforcing strict privilege escalation controls.  
    
-   Limits potential misuse of elevated privileges.  
    

Cons:

-   May increase user prompts for password entry, potentially impacting convenience.  
    

Default Value:  
 Systems may be configured to cache authentication for a period, but global disabling of re-authentication weakens security.

Pre-requisites:

-   Root or sudo privileges to modify PAM and sudoers configuration.  
    

Remediation:

### Test Plan:

Using Linux command line:

1.  Check sudoers and PAM configuration for authentication caching or disabling re-authentication:  
    
    sudo grep -E 'timestamp\_timeout|authenticate' /etc/sudoers /etc/pam.d/\*
    
      
    
2.  Verify timestamp\_timeout is not set to 0 or negative values that disable re-authentication.
    

### Implementation Plan:

Using Linux command line:

1\. Edit sudoers file safely using visudo:  

visudo

2\. Set or ensure timestamp\_timeout is set to a positive value, for example:

Defaults timestamp\_timeout=5

3\. Verify PAM configuration does not disable authentication prompts.  

4\. Save changes.  

### Backout Plan:

Using Linux command line:

1.  Modify timestamp\_timeout or PAM settings to previous values if needed.
    
2.  Verify sudo and authentication behavior.  
    

References:

-   CIS Amazon Linux 2 Benchmark v3.0.0  
    
-   sudoers Manual  
    
-   [NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 - AC-2](https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-53/rev-5/final#ac-2)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.