Title

The IPv6 protocol handler must be prevented from dynamic loading unless needed. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

IPv6 is the next generation of the Internet protocol. Binding this protocol to the network stack increases the attack surface of the host. Unprivileged local processes may be able to cause the system to dynamically load a protocol handler by opening a socket using the protocol.

Check Content

If this system uses IPv6, this is not applicable. Verify the IPv6 protocol handler is prevented from dynamic loading. # /sbin/ifconfig | grep –i inet6 This command should not return any output. If any lines are returned that display IPv6 addresses associated with the TCP/IP stack, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Comment or remove any IPV6 specific entries in the /etc/hosts file. On a standard SLES system, those entries would be something like: # special IPv6 addresses # ::1 localhost ipv6-localhost ipv6-loopback # fe00::0 ipv6-localnet

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-45981r1_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-22542

Group Title: GEN007720

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.