RHEL 10 must not forward Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) source-routed packets by default.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-281360 | SRG-OS-000420-GPOS-00186 | RHEL-10-800280 | SV-281360r1167230_rule | 2026-03-11 | 1 |
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.
Accepting source-routed packets in the IPv6 protocol has few legitimate uses. It must be disabled unless it is absolutely required.
Satisfies: SRG-OS-000420-GPOS-00186, SRG-OS-000142-GPOS-00091
ℹ️ Check
Note: If IPv6 is disabled on the system, this requirement is not applicable.
Verify RHEL 10 does not accept IPv6 source-routed packets by default.
Check the value of the "net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_source_route" variables with the following command:
$ sudo sysctl net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_source_route
net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0
If "net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_source_route" is not set to "0" or is missing, this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Configure RHEL 10 to not accept IPv6 source-routed packets by default.
Create a configuration file if it does not already exist:
$ sudo vi /etc/sysctl.d/ipv6_accept_source_route.conf
Add the following line to the file:
net.ipv6.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0
Reload settings from all system configuration files with the following command:
$ sudo sysctl --system