DISA STIGS Viewer

The Ctrl-Alt-Delete key sequence must be disabled on AlmaLinux OS 9.

Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-269141 ALMA-09-006730 SV-269141r1101851_rule   High
Description
A locally logged-on user who presses Ctrl-Alt-Delete when at the console can reboot the system. If accidentally pressed, as could happen in the case of a mixed OS environment, this can create the risk of short-term loss of availability of systems due to unintentional reboot. In a graphical user environment, risk of unintentional reboot from the Ctrl-Alt-Delete sequence is reduced because the user will be prompted before any action is taken.
STIG Date
CloudLinux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2025-05-22

Details

Check Text (C-73172r1101849_chk)
Verify AlmaLinux OS 9 is not configured to reboot the system when Ctrl-Alt-Delete is pressed with the following command:

$ systemctl status ctrl-alt-del.target

ctrl-alt-del.target
Loaded: masked (Reason: Unit ctrl-alt-del.target is masked.)
Active: inactive (dead)

If the "ctrl-alt-del.target" is loaded and not masked, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-73073r1101850_fix)
Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to disable the ctrl-alt-del.target with the following command:

$ systemctl disable --now ctrl-alt-del.target
$ systemctl mask --now ctrl-alt-del.target