ALMA-09-001120 - AlmaLinux OS 9 must automatically lock graphical user sessions after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Information

A session lock is a temporary action taken when a user stops work and moves away from the immediate physical vicinity of the information system but does not log out because of the temporary nature of the absence.

The session lock is implemented at the point where session activity can be determined. The operating system session lock event must include an obfuscation of the display screen so as to prevent other users from reading what was previously displayed.

Publicly viewable images can include static or dynamic images, for example, patterns used with screen savers, photographic images, solid colors, a clock, a battery life indicator, or a blank screen, with the additional caveat that none of the images convey sensitive information.

Solution

Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to initiate a screensaver after a 10-minute period of inactivity for graphical user interfaces.

Create a database to contain the systemwide screensaver settings (if it does not already exist) with the following command:

$ touch /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver

Edit /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver and add or update the following lines:

[org/gnome/desktop/session]
# Set the lock time out to 900 seconds before the session is considered idle
idle-delay=uint32 900

Update the system databases:

$ dconf update

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/0

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL

References: 800-53|AC-11(1), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000060, Rule-ID|SV-269103r1049985_rule, STIG-ID|ALMA-09-001120, Vuln-ID|V-269103

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 014f7d45c71d98f7d3a258d3040934641072464a1363e3127481a03b0ff94d9f