Any X Windows host must write .Xauthority files.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-850	GEN005160	SV-45911r1_rule		Medium

Description
.Xauthority files ensure the user is authorized to access specific X Windows host. If .Xauthority files are not used, it may be possible to obtain unauthorized access to the X Windows host.

STIG	Date
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server v11 for System z Security Technical Implementation Guide	2018-09-19

Details

Check Text ( C-43219r2_chk )
Check if the ‘xorg-x11’ package is installed: # rpm –q xorg-x11 If the xorg-x11 package is not installed this finding does not apply. Check for .Xauthority or .xauth files being utilized by looking for such files in the home directory of a user. Procedure: Verify Xwindows is used on the system. # egrep "^x:5.*X11" /etc/inittab If no line is returned the boot process does not start Xwindows. If Xwindows is not configured to run, this rule is not applicable. Look for xauthority files in user home directory. # cd ~someuser # ls -la\|egrep "(\.Xauthority\|\.xauth) " If the .Xauthority or .xauth (followed by apparently random characters) files do not exist, ask the SA if the user is using Xwindows. If the user is utilizing Xwindows and none of these files exist, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-43219r2_chk )

Check if the ‘xorg-x11’ package is installed:
# rpm –q xorg-x11
If the xorg-x11 package is not installed this finding does not apply.

Check for .Xauthority or .xauth files being utilized by looking for such files in the home directory of a user.

Procedure:
Verify Xwindows is used on the system.
# egrep "^x:5.*X11" /etc/inittab
If no line is returned the boot process does not start Xwindows. If Xwindows is not configured to run, this rule is not applicable.

Look for xauthority files in user home directory.
# cd ~someuser
# ls -la|egrep "(\.Xauthority|\.xauth) "

If the .Xauthority or .xauth (followed by apparently random characters) files do not exist, ask the SA if the user is using Xwindows. If the user is utilizing Xwindows and none of these files exist, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-39290r1_fix)
The X Windows server package should not be needed on a System z virtual OE. It can be removed to close this finding: # rpm –e xorg-x11 If X Windows is required for some reason, ensure that the X Windows host is configured to write .Xauthority files into user home directories. Edit the Xaccess file. Ensure the line that writes the .Xauthority file is uncommented.