Graphical desktop environments provided by the system must automatically lock after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-216102 | SRG-OS-000029 | SOL-11.1-040180 | SV-216102r958402_rule | 2026-02-19 | 3 |
Description
Allowing access to a graphical environment when the user is not attending the system can allow unauthorized users access to the system.
ℹ️ Check
If the system is not running XWindows, this check does not apply.
Determine if the screen saver timeout is configured properly.
# grep "^\*timeout:" /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver
If the output is not:
*timeout: 0:15:00
this is a finding.
# grep "^\*lockTimeout:" /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver
If the output is not:
*lockTimeout: 0:00:05
this is a finding.
# grep "^\*lock:" /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver
If the output is not:
*lock: True
this is a finding.
For each existing user, check the configuration of their personal .xscreensaver file.
# grep "^lock:" $HOME/.xscreensaver
If the output is not:
*lock: True
this is a finding.
grep "^lockTimeout:" $HOME/.xscreensaver
If the output is not:
*lockTimeout: 0:00:05
this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
The root role is required.
Edit the global screensaver configuration file to ensure 15 minute screen lock.
# pfedit /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver
Find the timeout control lines and change them to read:
*timeout: 0:15:00
*lockTimeout:0:00:05
*lock: True
For each user on the system, edit their local $HOME/.xscreensaver file and change the timeout values.
# pfedit $HOME/.xscreensaver
Find the timeout control lines and change them to read:
timeout: 0:15:00
lockTimeout:0:00:05
lock: True