2.2.2 Ensure xorg-x11-server-common is not installed

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 on. 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

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

# dnf remove xorg-x11-server-common

Impact:

Many Linux systems run applications which require a Java runtime. Some Linux Java packages have a dependency on specific X Windows 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/files/3742

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

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

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 4ed59e297c7e89ebb61c74b62b3ac93086d55e492199dc8b49ed6a09a49433a2