Detections
Analytics

CISC-RT-000170 - The Cisco switch must be configured to have Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) unreachable messages disabled on all external interfaces - ip unreachables

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Information

The ICMP supports IP traffic by relaying information about paths, routes, and network conditions. Switches automatically send ICMP messages under a wide variety of conditions. Host unreachable ICMP messages are commonly used by attackers for network mapping and diagnosis.

NOTE: Nessus has provided the target output to assist in reviewing the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Step 1: Disable ip unreachables on all external interfaces.

SW1(config)#int g0/1
SW1(config-if)#no ip unreachables

Step 2: Disable ip unreachables on the Null0 interface if it is used to backhole packets.

SW1(config-if)#int null 0
SW1(config-if)#no ip unreachables

Alternative - DODIN Backbone:

Configure the PE switch to rate limit ICMP unreachable messages as shown in the example below:

SW1(config)#ip icmp rate-limit unreachable df 100
SW1(config)#ip icmp rate-limit unreachable 100000
SW1(config)#end

Alternative - Non DODIN Backbone.

An alternative for non-backbone networks (i.e. enclave, base, camp, etc.) is to filter messages generated by the switch and silently drop ICMP Administratively Prohibited and Host Unreachable messages using the following configuration steps:

Step 1: Configure ACL to include ICMP Type 3 Code 1 (Host Unreachable) and Code 13 (Administratively Prohibited) as shown in the example below:

SW1(config)#ip access-list ext ICMP_T3C1C13
SW1(config-ext-nacl)#permit icmp any any host-unreachable
SW1(config-ext-nacl)#permit icmp any any administratively-prohibited
SW1(config-ext-nacl)#exit

Step 2: Create a route map to forward these ICMP messages to the Null0 interface.

SW1(config)#route-map LOCAL_POLICY
SW1(config-route-map)#match ip address ICMP_T3C1C13
SW1(config-route-map)#set interface Null0
SW1(config-route-map)#exit

Step 3: Configure no ip unreachables on the Null0 interface.

SW1(config)#int null 0
SW1(config-if)#no ip unreachables
SW1(config-if)#exit

Step 4: Apply the policy to filter messages generated by the switch.

SW1(config)#ip local policy route-map LOCAL_POLICY
SW1(config)#end

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_Cisco_IOS_XE_Switch_Y20M10_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-7(16), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-002385, Rule-ID|SV-221000r622190_rule, STIG-ID|CISC-RT-000170, STIG-Legacy|SV-110821, STIG-Legacy|V-101717, Vuln-ID|V-221000

Plugin: Cisco

Control ID: 9fdcdef6ad58f345f691fed786e3c80884ea402cb615866d0ce5a69e8155b645