RHEL-09-213065 - RHEL 9 must disable the Transparent Inter Process Communication (TIPC) kernel module.

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 Transparent Inter Process Communication (TIPC) is a protocol that is specially designed for intra-cluster communication. It can be configured to transmit messages either on UDP or directly across Ethernet. Message delivery is sequence guaranteed, loss free and flow controlled. Disabling TIPC protects the system against exploitation of any flaws in its implementation.

Solution

To configure the system to prevent the tipc kernel module from being loaded, add the following line to the file /etc/modprobe.d/tipc.conf (or create tipc.conf if it does not exist):

install tipc /bin/false
blacklist tipc

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_RHEL_9_V2R2_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7a., CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000381, Rule-ID|SV-257808r958478_rule, STIG-ID|RHEL-09-213065, Vuln-ID|V-257808

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 3d7ce52c2a75d5ce3ac09d2950d04a35f9837940c1378e2d9b3d6c6902e01030