OL 8 must not forward IPv6 source-routed packets.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-248880	SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227	OL08-00-040240	SV-248880r1156632_rule	2025-12-08	2

Description
Source-routed packets allow the source of the packet to suggest that routers forward the packet along a different path than configured on the router, which can be used to bypass network security measures. This requirement applies only to the forwarding of source-routed traffic, such as when forwarding is enabled and the system is functioning as a router. The sysctl --system command will load settings from all system configuration files. All configuration files are sorted by their filename in lexicographical order, regardless of the directories in which they reside. If multiple files specify the same option, the entry in the file with the lexicographically latest name will take precedence. Files are read from directories in the following list from top to bottom. Once a file of a given filename is loaded, any file of the same name in subsequent directories is ignored. /etc/sysctl.d/.conf /run/sysctl.d/.conf /usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/.conf /usr/lib/sysctl.d/.conf /lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /etc/sysctl.conf

Description

Source-routed packets allow the source of the packet to suggest that routers forward the packet along a different path than configured on the router, which can be used to bypass network security measures. This requirement applies only to the forwarding of source-routed traffic, such as when forwarding is enabled and the system is functioning as a router. The sysctl --system command will load settings from all system configuration files. All configuration files are sorted by their filename in lexicographical order, regardless of the directories in which they reside. If multiple files specify the same option, the entry in the file with the lexicographically latest name will take precedence. Files are read from directories in the following list from top to bottom. Once a file of a given filename is loaded, any file of the same name in subsequent directories is ignored. /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf /run/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /etc/sysctl.conf

ℹ️ Check
Note: If IPv6 is disabled on the system, this requirement is Not Applicable. Verify OL 8 does not accept IPv6 source-routed packets. Check the value of the accept source route variable with the following command: $ sysctl net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_source_route net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0 If the returned line does not have a value of "0", a line is not returned, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Note: If IPv6 is disabled on the system, this requirement is Not Applicable. Verify OL 8 does not accept IPv6 source-routed packets. Check the value of the accept source route variable with the following command: $ sysctl net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_source_route net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0 If the returned line does not have a value of "0", a line is not returned, or the line is commented out, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Configure OL 8 to not forward IPv6 source-routed packets. Add or edit the following line in a single system configuration file in the "/etc/sysctl.d/" directory: net.ipv6.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0 Load settings from all system configuration files with the following command: $ sudo sysctl --system