5.4.3.16 Ensure StopIdleSessionSec is configured

Information

The Operating System (OS) must terminate idle user sessions.

Terminating an idle session within a short time period reduces the window of opportunity for unauthorized personnel to take control of a management session enabled on the console or console port that has been left unattended.

Solution

Configure RHEL 8 to log out idle sessions by editing the /etc/systemd/logind.conf file with the following line:

StopIdleSessionSec=900

The "logind" service must be restarted for the changes to take effect. To restart the "logind" service, run the following command:

# systemctl restart systemd-logind

Note: To preserve running user programs such as tmux, uncomment and/or edit "KillUserProccesses=no" in "/etc/systemd/logind.conf".

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/19886