STIGUI
V-216981CAT II — Medium severitySV-216981r945860_rule

The PE router must be configured to ignore or block all packets with any IP options.

Rule version SRG-NET-000205-RTR-000016 · STIG v5 · 2025-09-10

Discussion

Packets with IP options are not fast switched and therefore must be punted to the router processor. Hackers who initiate denial-of-service (DoS) attacks on routers commonly send large streams of packets with IP options. Dropping the packets with IP options reduces the load of IP options packets on the router. The end result is a reduction in the effects of the DoS attack on the router and on downstream routers.

Check

Review the router configuration to determine if it will block all packets with IP options.

If the router is not configured to drop all packets with IP options, this is a finding.

Fix

Configure the router to drop all packets with IP options.

Identifiers

Group ID
V-216981
Group title
SRG-NET-000205
Rule ID
SV-216981r945860_rule
Check ID
C-18211r382649_chk
Fix ID
F-18209r382650_fix