Cisco NX OS Switch RTR Security Technical Implementation Guide
Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark
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SRG-NET-000018-RTR-000001
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The Cisco switch must be configured to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of information within the network based on organization-defined information flow control policies.
Information flow control regulates where information is allowed to travel within a network and between interconnected networks. The flow of all network traffic must be monitored and controlled so i...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000230-RTR-000001
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SRG-NET-000230-RTR-000003
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The Cisco switch must be configured to use keys with a duration not exceeding 180 days for authenticating routing protocol messages.
If the keys used for routing protocol authentication are guessed, the malicious user could create havoc within the network by advertising incorrect routes and redirecting traffic. Some routing prot...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000168-RTR-000077
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SRG-NET-000168-RTR-000078
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SRG-NET-000019-RTR-000007
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The Cisco switch must be configured to have all inactive layer 3 interfaces disabled.
An inactive interface is rarely monitored or controlled and may expose a network to an undetected attack on that interface. Unauthorized personnel with access to the communication facility could ga...Rule Low Severity -
SRG-NET-000131-RTR-000083
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SRG-NET-000362-RTR-000110
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The Cisco switch must be configured to protect against or limit the effects of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks by employing control plane protection.
The Route Processor (RP) is critical to all network operations because it is the component used to build all forwarding paths for the data plane via control plane processes. It is also instrumental...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000002
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The Cisco switch must be configured to drop all fragmented Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets destined to itself.
Fragmented ICMP packets can be generated by hackers for DoS attacks such as Ping O' Death and Teardrop. It is imperative that all fragmented ICMP packets are dropped.Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000362-RTR-000111
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SRG-NET-000362-RTR-000112
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SRG-NET-000362-RTR-000113
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The Cisco switch must be configured to have Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) unreachable messages disabled on all external interfaces.
The ICMP supports IP traffic by relaying information about paths, routes, and network conditions. Switches automatically send ICMP messages under a wide variety of conditions. Host unreachable ICMP...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000362-RTR-000115
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The Cisco switch must be configured to have Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect messages disabled on all external interfaces.
The ICMP supports IP traffic by relaying information about paths, routes, and network conditions. Switches automatically send ICMP messages under a wide variety of conditions. Redirect ICMP message...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000078-RTR-000001
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The Cisco switch must be configured to log all packets that have been dropped at interfaces via an ACL.
Auditing and logging are key components of any security architecture. It is essential for security personnel to know what is being done or attempted to be done, and by whom, to compile an accurate ...Rule Low Severity -
SRG-NET-000202-RTR-000001
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SRG-NET-000019-RTR-000002
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The Cisco perimeter switch must be configured to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of information between interconnected networks in accordance with applicable policy.
Information flow control regulates authorized information to travel within a network and between interconnected networks. Controlling the flow of network traffic is critical so it does not introduc...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000364-RTR-000109
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The Cisco perimeter switch must be configured to only allow incoming communications from authorized sources to be routed to authorized destinations.
Unrestricted traffic may contain malicious traffic that poses a threat to an enclave or to other connected networks. Additionally, unrestricted traffic may transit a network, which uses bandwidth a...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000364-RTR-000110
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The Cisco perimeter switch must be configured to block inbound packets with source Bogon IP address prefixes.
Packets with Bogon IP source addresses should never be allowed to traverse the IP core. Bogon IP networks are RFC1918 addresses or address blocks that have never been assigned by the IANA or have b...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000014
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SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000003
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SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000004
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The Cisco perimeter switch must be configured to filter ingress traffic at the external interface on an inbound direction.
Access lists are used to separate data traffic into that which it will route (permitted packets) and that which it will not route (denied packets). Secure configuration of switches makes use of acc...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000005
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SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000015
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SRG-NET-000364-RTR-000111
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The Cisco perimeter switch must be configured to have Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) disabled on all external interfaces.
LLDP is a neighbor discovery protocol used to advertise device capabilities, configuration information, and device identity. LLDP is media-and-protocol-independent as it runs over layer 2; therefor...Rule Low Severity -
SRG-NET-000364-RTR-000111
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SRG-NET-000364-RTR-000112
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SRG-NET-000364-RTR-000113
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The Cisco perimeter switch must be configured to block all outbound management traffic.
For in-band management, the management network must have its own subnet in order to enforce control and access boundaries provided by Layer 3 network nodes, such as switches and firewalls. Manageme...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000012
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SRG-NET-000362-RTR-000124
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SRG-NET-000230-RTR-000002
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SRG-NET-000018-RTR-000002
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The Cisco BGP switch must be configured to reject inbound route advertisements for any Bogon prefixes.
Accepting route advertisements for Bogon prefixes can result in the local autonomous system (AS) becoming a transit for malicious traffic as it will in turn advertise these prefixes to neighbor aut...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000018-RTR-000003
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The Cisco BGP switch must be configured to reject inbound route advertisements for any prefixes belonging to the local autonomous system (AS).
Accepting route advertisements belonging to the local AS can result in traffic looping or being black-holed, or at a minimum, using a non-optimized path.Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-NET-000018-RTR-000004
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The Cisco BGP switch must be configured to reject inbound route advertisements from a customer edge (CE) switch for prefixes that are not allocated to that customer.
As a best practice, a service provider should only accept customer prefixes that have been assigned to that customer and any peering autonomous systems. A multi-homed customer with BGP speaking swi...Rule Medium Severity
Node 2
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