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Disable Kernel Parameter for Accepting ICMP Redirects by Default on IPv4 Interfaces

An XCCDF Rule

Description

To set the runtime status of the net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects kernel parameter, run the following command:

$ sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects=0
To make sure that the setting is persistent, add the following line to a file in the directory /etc/sysctl.d:
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects = 0

Rationale

ICMP redirect messages are used by routers to inform hosts that a more direct route exists for a particular destination. These messages modify the host's route table and are unauthenticated. An illicit ICMP redirect message could result in a man-in-the-middle attack.
This feature of the IPv4 protocol has few legitimate uses. It should be disabled unless absolutely required.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_sysctl_net_ipv4_conf_default_accept_redirects
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Ansible

- name: Gather the package facts
  package_facts:
    manager: auto
  tags:
  - CJIS-5.10.1.1
  - NIST-800-171-3.1.20

Remediation - Kubernetes Patch

---
apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
kind: MachineConfig
spec:
  config:
    ignition:

Remediation - Shell Script

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if rpm --quiet -q kernel; then

# Comment out any occurrences of net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects from /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf files

for f in /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf /run/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf; do