Skip to content
Log In

Remove the GDM Package Group

An XCCDF Rule

Description

By removing the gdm package, the system no longer has GNOME installed installed. If X Windows is not installed then the system cannot boot into graphical user mode. This prevents the system from being accidentally or maliciously booted into a graphical.target mode. To do so, run the following command: 
$ sudo yum remove gdm

Rationale

Unnecessary service packages must not be installed to decrease the attack surface of the system. A graphical environment is unnecessary for certain types of systems including a virtualization hypervisor.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_package_gdm_removed
Severity
Medium
References
Updated

Remediation Templates

A Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if rpm --quiet -q gdm; then
# CAUTION: This remediation script will remove gdm
#	   from the system, and may remove any packages
#	   that depend on gdm. Execute this
#	   remediation AFTER testing on a non-production

A Puppet Snippet

include remove_gdm
class remove_gdm {
  package { 'gdm':
    ensure => 'purged',
  }
}

An Ansible Snippet

- name: Gather the package facts
  package_facts:
    manager: auto
  tags:
  - CCE-92352-4
  - NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)