A graphical display manager must not be installed on RHEL 9 unless approved.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-257837 | RHEL-09-215070 | SV-257837r1044910_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| Unnecessary service packages must not be installed 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 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-12-04 |
Details
| Check Text (C-61578r1044909_chk) |
| Verify that a graphical user interface is not installed with the following command: $ dnf list --installed "xorg-x11-server-common" Error: No matching Packages to list If the "xorg-x11-server-common" package is installed, and the use of a graphical user interface has not been documented with the information system security officer (ISSO) as an operational requirement, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-61502r925497_fix) |
| Document the requirement for a graphical user interface with the ISSO or remove all xorg packages with the following command: Warning: If you are accessing the system through the graphical user interface, change to the multi-user.target with the following command: $ sudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target Warning: Removal of the graphical user interface will immediately render it useless. The following commands must not be run from a virtual terminal emulator in the graphical interface. $ sudo dnf remove "xorg*" $ sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target |