Title

RHEL 9 must log IPv4 packets with impossible addresses by default. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The presence of "martian" packets (which have impossible addresses) as well as spoofed packets, source-routed packets, and redirects could be a sign of nefarious network activity. Logging these packets enables this activity to be detected.

Check Content

Verify RHEL 9 logs IPv4 martian packets by default. Check the value of the accept source route variable with the following command: $ sudo sysctl net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians = 1 If the returned line does not have a value of "1", a line is not returned, or the line is commented out, this is a finding. Check that the configuration files are present to enable this network parameter. $ sudo /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysctl --cat-config | egrep -v '^(#|;)' | grep -F net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians | tail -1 net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians = 1 If "net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians" is not set to "1" or is missing, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure RHEL 9 to log martian packets on IPv4 interfaces by default. Add or edit the following line in a single system configuration file, in the "/etc/sysctl.d/" directory: net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians=1 Load settings from all system configuration files with the following command: $ sudo sysctl --system

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-257961r925870_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-257961

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

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