The Photon operating system must configure sshd to disable X11 forwarding.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-256549 | PHTN-30-000080 | SV-256549r991589_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| X11 is an older, insecure graphics forwarding protocol. It is not used by Photon and should be disabled as a general best practice to limit attack surface area and communication channels. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2024-12-16 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-256549r991589_chk)
At the command line, run the following command:
# sshd -T|&grep -i X11Forwarding
Expected result:
X11Forwarding no
If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-60167r887320_fix)
Navigate to and open:
/etc/ssh/sshd_config
Ensure the "X11Forwarding" line is uncommented and set to the following:
X11Forwarding no
At the command line, run the following command:
# systemctl restart sshd.service