The graphical display manager must not be installed on RHEL 8 unless approved.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-230553	RHEL-08-040320	SV-230553r809324_rule		Medium

Description
Internet services that are not required for system or application processes must not be active to decrease the attack surface of the system. Graphical display managers have a long history of security vulnerabilities and must not be used, unless approved and documented.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-33222r809322_chk )
Verify that a graphical user interface is not installed: $ rpm -qa \| grep xorg \| grep server Ask the System Administrator if use of a graphical user interface is an operational requirement. If the use of a graphical user interface on the system is not documented with the ISSO, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-33197r809323_fix)
Document the requirement for a graphical user interface with the ISSO or reinstall the operating system without the graphical user interface. If reinstallation is not feasible, then continue with the following procedure: Open an SSH session and enter the following commands: $ sudo yum remove xorg-x11-server-Xorg xorg-x11-server-common xorg-x11-server-utils xorg-x11-server-Xwayland A reboot is required for the changes to take effect.

Fix Text (F-33197r809323_fix)

Document the requirement for a graphical user interface with the ISSO or reinstall the operating system without the graphical user interface. If reinstallation is not feasible, then continue with the following procedure:

Open an SSH session and enter the following commands:

$ sudo yum remove xorg-x11-server-Xorg xorg-x11-server-common xorg-x11-server-utils xorg-x11-server-Xwayland

A reboot is required for the changes to take effect.