Title

Graphical desktop environments provided by the system must automatically lock after 15 minutes of inactivity and the system must require users to re-authenticate to unlock the environment. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

If graphical desktop sessions do not lock the session after 15 minutes of inactivity, requiring re-authentication to resume operations, the system or individual data could be compromised by an alert intruder who could exploit the oversight. This requirement applies to graphical desktop environments provided by the system to locally attached displays and input devices as well as to graphical desktop environments provided to remote systems, including thin clients.

Check Content

Log into a graphical desktop environment provided by the system. Allow the session to remain idle for 15 minutes. If the desktop session is not automatically locked after 15 minutes, or does not require re-authentication to resume operations, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Consult vendor documentation to determine the settings required for the system to lock graphical desktop environments. Configure the system to lock graphical desktop environments after 15 minutes of inactivity and require re-authentication to resume operations.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-4083r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-4083

Group Title: GEN000500

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.