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=0To 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 - Kubernetes Patch
---
apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
kind: MachineConfig
spec:
config:
ignition:
Remediation - Ansible
- name: List /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf files
find:
paths:
- /etc/sysctl.d/
- /run/sysctl.d/
- /usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/
Remediation - Shell Script
# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if [ ! -f /.dockerenv ] && [ ! -f /run/.containerenv ]; 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; do