Reset Failed Login Count in Linux

Depends on the PAM configuration on Linux server, the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM)

To check the login attempts to see if it needs to be reset type faillog -u

root@testsrv:~ # faillog -u user1
Username Failures Maximum Latest
user1       15        0

Reset the counter with the -r flag:

root@testsrv:~ # /usr/bin/faillog -r user1
Username Failures Maximum Latest
user1        0        0

If you’re root but is not managing to become a user with su, you also need to reset the login counter:

root@testsrv~ # su – username
su: incorrect password
root@testsrv:~ # /sbin/pam_tally —-user user1 —-reset
User user1 (672) had 34
root@testsrv:~ # su – username
user1@testsrv:~ $