RHEL-08-040023 - RHEL 8 must disable the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP).

Information

It is detrimental for operating systems to provide, or install by default, functionality exceeding requirements or mission objectives. These unnecessary capabilities or services are often overlooked and therefore may remain unsecured. They increase the risk to the platform by providing additional attack vectors.

Failing to disconnect unused protocols can result in a system compromise.

The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is a transport layer protocol, designed to support the idea of message-oriented communication, with several streams of messages within one connection. Disabling SCTP protects the system against exploitation of any flaws in its implementation.

Solution

Configure the operating system to disable the ability to use the SCTP kernel module.

Add or update the following lines in the file '/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf':

install sctp /bin/false
blacklist sctp

Reboot the system for the settings to take effect.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_RHEL_8_V2R1_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7a., CAT|III, CCI|CCI-000381, Rule-ID|SV-230496r1017279_rule, STIG-ID|RHEL-08-040023, Vuln-ID|V-230496

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 6b581e9880bddb8a72cc72adb53bfa331e9dcc19d067b449602d200334e4541a