OpenControls Logo

STIG Viewer

STIGViewer Support

OL 9 must enable kernel parameters to enforce discretionary access control on symlinks.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-271741OL09-00-002402SV-271741r1091935_ruleCCI-002165medium
Description
By enabling the fs.protected_symlinks kernel parameter, symbolic links are permitted to be followed only when outside a sticky world-writable directory, or when the user identifier (UID) of the link and follower match, or when the directory owner matches the symlink's owner. Disallowing such symlinks helps mitigate vulnerabilities based on insecure file system accessed by privileged programs, avoiding an exploitation vector exploiting unsafe use of open() or creat(). Satisfies: SRG-OS-000312-GPOS-00123, SRG-OS-000324-GPOS-00125
STIGDate
Oracle Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-02-17

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 2 frameworks
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (15) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00
AC-3(13)Attribute-based Access Control
1.00
AC-3(4)Discretionary Access Control
1.00
AC-3(7)Role-based Access Control
1.00
AC-6(10)Prohibit Non-privileged Users from Executing Privileged Functions
1.00
AC-6(8)Privilege Levels for Code Execution
1.00
CM-11(2)Software Installation with Privileged Status
1.00
CM-6Configuration Settings
1.00
CM-7(2)Prevent Program Execution
1.00
CM-7(5)Authorized Software — Allow-by-exception
1.00

+5 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

CCI1 mapping
CCI-002165
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-271741r1091935_chk)

Verify that OL 9 is configured to enable DAC on symlinks. Check the status of the fs.protected_symlinks kernel parameter with the following command: $ sudo sysctl fs.protected_symlinks fs.protected_symlinks = 1 If "fs.protected_symlinks " is not set to "1" or is missing, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-75698r1091934_fix)

Configure OL 9 to enable DAC on symlinks with the following: Add or edit the following line in a system configuration file in the "/etc/sysctl.d/" directory: fs.protected_symlinks = 1 Load settings from all system configuration files with the following command: $ sudo sysctl --system