Dell Networking SmartFabric OS10 - How to unlock a user that has been locked out.

Summary: Modern versions of SmartFabric OS10 have implemented account lockout functionality. If too many incorrect passward attempts are made, the account will become locked out for a fixed period. This can be caused by security scanning or mistyping of passwords. This article details how to force reset the lockout. ...

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Instructions

Errors are seen during incorrect login attempts with known good passwords:
It reports permission denied as listed below:

remotesystem:~$ sshpass -p admin ssh admin@<switchip>
Debian GNU/Linux 10
Dell SmartFabric OS10 Enterprise
Permission denied, please try again.


This is due to pam_tally2 user lockout configurations.
See the user guide on user creation for account lockout configuration as of 10.5.3+.
 

To clear user lockout without waiting for a timeout:
Login as linuxadmin

linuxadmin@OS10:~$ sudo pam_tally2 --reset --user admin
Login           Failures Latest failure     From
admin              11    03/22/24 18:05:36  <last ip that logged in>


The user you reset, in this case, the admin, can now log in.
When an admin or another user is locked out, there is no indication that the failure is due to a lockout.

Affected Products

PowerSwitch S3048-ON, PowerSwitch S4048-ON, PowerSwitch N3000E-ON Series, PowerSwitch N3200-ON, PowerSwitch S4048T-ON, PowerSwitch S4112F-ON/S4112T-ON, PowerSwitch S4128F-ON/S4128T-ON, PowerSwitch S4148F-ON/S4148T-ON/S4148FE-ON, PowerSwitch S4148U-ON , PowerSwitch S4248FB-ON /S4248FBL-ON, PowerSwitch S5212F-ON, PowerSwitch S5224F-ON, PowerSwitch S5232F-ON, PowerSwitch S5248F-ON, PowerSwitch S5296F-ON, PowerSwitch S5448F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9100-ON, PowerSwitch Z9264F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9332F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9432F-ON ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000223426
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 05 Jun 2025
Version:  4
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