TOSS 5 must ignore Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect messages.

Severity
Group ID
Group Title
Version
Rule ID
Date
STIG Version
mediumV-282685SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227TOSS-05-000213SV-282685r1201035_rule2026-04-011

Description

ICMP redirect messages are used by routers to inform hosts that a more direct route exists for a particular destination. These messages modify the host's route table and are unauthenticated. An illicit ICMP redirect message could result in a man-in-the-middle attack. This feature of the IPv4 protocol has few legitimate uses. It should be disabled unless absolutely required.

ℹ️ Check

Verify TOSS 5 will not accept IPv4 ICMP redirect messages using the following command: $ sudo sysctl net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects = 0 If the returned line does not have a value of "0", or a line is not returned, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix

Configure TOSS 5 to ignore IPv4 ICMP redirect messages. Add or edit the following line in a single system configuration file, in the "/etc/sysctl.d/" directory: net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects = 0 Load settings from all system configuration files using the following command: $ sudo sysctl --system