The Cisco router must be configured to have Gratuitous ARP disabled on all external interfaces.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-216563CISC-RT-000150SV-216563r856182_ruleCCI-002385medium
Description
A gratuitous ARP is an ARP broadcast in which the source and destination MAC addresses are the same. It is used to inform the network about a host IP address. A spoofed gratuitous ARP message can cause network mapping information to be stored incorrectly, causing network malfunction.
STIGDate
Cisco IOS Router RTR Security Technical Implementation Guide2024-11-25

Details

Check Text (C-216563r856182_chk)

Review the configuration to determine if gratuitous ARP is disabled. The following command should not be found in the router configuration: ip gratuitous-arps Note: With Cisco IOS, Gratuitous ARP is enabled and disabled globally. If gratuitous ARP is enabled on any external interface, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-17794r287074_fix)

Disable gratuitous ARP as shown in the example below: R5(config)#no ip gratuitous-arps