The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have a graphical display manager installed unless approved.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-204624	RHEL-07-040730	SV-204624r603261_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 7 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-12-08

Details

Check Text ( C-36353r602657_chk )

Verify the system is configured to boot to the command line: # systemctl get-default multi-user.target If the system default target is not set to "multi-user.target" and the Information System Security Officer (ISSO) lacks a documented requirement for a graphical user interface, this is a finding. Verify 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-36316r602658_fix)
Document the requirement for a graphical user interface with the ISSO or remove the related packages with the following commands: # rpm -e xorg-x11-server-common # systemctl set-default multi-user.target