SDB:XFree Server No Longer Accepts Remote Access on Port 6000

From openSUSE

Version: 9.1

Situation

As of SUSE 9.1, the XFree server no longer accepts any remote access. This has been disabled by the option "-nolisten tcp", which is passed as start argument.

Procedure

To reenable remote access, set the following variable in the file /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager to "yes":

DISPLAYMANAGER_XSERVER_TCP_PORT_6000_OPEN

The changes become effective after executing SuSEconfig and restarting the XServer.

Hint:
Use SSH's X-forwarding feature if possible, since remote access to the XServer via port 6000 takes place unencrypted, thus offering a vulnerable spot. To use SSH with this feature, simply append an -X to the already known SSH command:

ssh -X user@remote.host

Acknowledgments to Sven Michels for supplying this article.