RHEL 8 must automatically lock graphical user sessions after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-230352	RHEL-08-020060	SV-230352r646876_rule		Medium

Description
A session lock is a temporary action taken when a user stops work and moves away from the immediate physical vicinity of the information system but does not want to log out because of the temporary nature of the absence. The session lock is implemented at the point where session activity can be determined. Rather than be forced to wait for a period of time to expire before the user session can be locked, RHEL 8 needs to provide users with the ability to manually invoke a session lock so users can secure their session if it is necessary to temporarily vacate the immediate physical vicinity. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000029-GPOS-00010, SRG-OS-000031-GPOS-00012

Description

A session lock is a temporary action taken when a user stops work and moves away from the immediate physical vicinity of the information system but does not want to log out because of the temporary nature of the absence. The session lock is implemented at the point where session activity can be determined. Rather than be forced to wait for a period of time to expire before the user session can be locked, RHEL 8 needs to provide users with the ability to manually invoke a session lock so users can secure their session if it is necessary to temporarily vacate the immediate physical vicinity. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000029-GPOS-00010, SRG-OS-000031-GPOS-00012

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-09-11

Details

Check Text ( C-33021r646875_chk )
Verify the operating system initiates a session lock after a 15-minute period of inactivity for graphical user interfaces with the following commands: This requirement assumes the use of the RHEL 8 default graphical user interface, Gnome Shell. If the system does not have any graphical user interface installed, this requirement is Not Applicable. $ sudo gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.session idle-delay uint32 900 If "idle-delay" is set to "0" or a value greater than "900", this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-33021r646875_chk )

Verify the operating system initiates a session lock after a 15-minute period of inactivity for graphical user interfaces with the following commands:

This requirement assumes the use of the RHEL 8 default graphical user interface, Gnome Shell. If the system does not have any graphical user interface installed, this requirement is Not Applicable.

$ sudo gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.session idle-delay

uint32 900

If "idle-delay" is set to "0" or a value greater than "900", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-32996r567803_fix)
Configure the operating system to initiate a screensaver after a 15-minute period of inactivity for graphical user interfaces. Create a database to contain the system-wide screensaver settings (if it does not already exist) with the following command: $ sudo touch /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver Edit /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver and add or update the following lines: [org/gnome/desktop/session] # Set the lock time out to 900 seconds before the session is considered idle idle-delay=uint32 900 Update the system databases: $ sudo dconf update

Fix Text (F-32996r567803_fix)

Configure the operating system to initiate a screensaver after a 15-minute period of inactivity for graphical user interfaces.

Create a database to contain the system-wide screensaver settings (if it does not already exist) with the following command:

$ sudo touch /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver

Edit /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver and add or update the following lines:

[org/gnome/desktop/session]
# Set the lock time out to 900 seconds before the session is considered idle
idle-delay=uint32 900

Update the system databases:

$ sudo dconf update