The x86 Ctrl-Alt-Delete key sequence must be disabled on RHEL 9.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257785	RHEL-09-211050	SV-257785r958726_rule		High

Description
A locally logged-on user who presses Ctrl-Alt-Delete when at the console can reboot the system. If accidentally pressed, as could happen in the case of a mixed OS environment, this can create the risk of short-term loss of availability of systems due to unintentional reboot. In a graphical user environment, risk of unintentional reboot from the Ctrl-Alt-Delete sequence is reduced because the user will be prompted before any action is taken. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000324-GPOS-00125, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Description

A locally logged-on user who presses Ctrl-Alt-Delete when at the console can reboot the system. If accidentally pressed, as could happen in the case of a mixed OS environment, this can create the risk of short-term loss of availability of systems due to unintentional reboot. In a graphical user environment, risk of unintentional reboot from the Ctrl-Alt-Delete sequence is reduced because the user will be prompted before any action is taken. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000324-GPOS-00125, SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-06-04

Details

Check Text ( C-61526r925340_chk )
Verify RHEL 9 is not configured to reboot the system when Ctrl-Alt-Delete is pressed with the following command: $ sudo systemctl status ctrl-alt-del.target ctrl-alt-del.target Loaded: masked (Reason: Unit ctrl-alt-del.target is masked.) Active: inactive (dead) If the "ctrl-alt-del.target" is loaded and not masked, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61450r925341_fix)
Configure RHEL 9 to disable the ctrl-alt-del.target with the following command: $ sudo systemctl disable --now ctrl-alt-del.target $ sudo systemctl mask --now ctrl-alt-del.target