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2.1.21 Ensure X window server services are not in use

Information

The X Window System provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) where users can have multiple windows in which to run programs and various add-ons. The X Windows system is typically used on workstations where users login, but not on servers where users typically do not login.

Unless your organization specifically requires graphical login access via X Windows, remove it to reduce the potential attack surface.

Solution

- IF - a Graphical Desktop Manager or X-Windows server is not required and approved by local site policy:

Run the following command to remove the X Windows Server packages:

# dnf remove xorg-x11-server-common

Impact:

Removing the X Window server removes the ability to run any local graphical interface; do not apply this on systems where a GUI is required.

If a Graphical Desktop Manager (such as GDM) is in use on the system, there may be a dependency on the xorg-x11-server-common package. If the display manager is required and approved by local site policy, the package should not be removed.

Many Linux systems run applications which require a Java runtime. Some Linux Java packages have a dependency on specific X Window xorg-x11-fonts . One workaround to avoid this dependency is to use the "headless" Java packages for your specific Java runtime.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/27893

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, 800-53|CM-11, CSCv7|9.2

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 646ebb2d6cfa57ad5e57a8fde6354efa95580aa30aaefa5184fddb267bde8355