2.2.2 Ensure X Window System 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.

Rationale:

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

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, if provided by your distribution.

Solution

Remove the X Windows System packages:

apt purge xserver-xorg*

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2971

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-11, CSCv7|2.6

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 5cb2031d3568338f8e05406dd453d2260841f7b4d3fdcffa9c2f84a558e003cd