RHEL 10 must not enable Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) packet forwarding unless the system is a router.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281357 | RHEL-10-800250 | SV-281357r1167221_rule | CCI-002385 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| IP forwarding permits the kernel to forward packets from one network interface to another. The ability to forward packets between two networks is only appropriate for systems acting as routers. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000420-GPOS-00186, SRG-OS-000142-GPOS-00088 | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-03-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281357r1167221_chk)
Note: If IPv6 is disabled on the system, this requirement is not applicable.
Verify RHEL 10 is not performing IPv6 packet forwarding unless the system is a router.
Check the value of the "net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding" variable with the following command:
$ sudo sysctl net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding
net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding = 0
If "net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding" is not set to "0" or is missing, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85823r1167220_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 to not allow IPv6 packet forwarding unless the system is a router.
Create a configuration file if it does not already exist:
$ sudo vi /etc/sysctl.d/ipv6_forwarding.conf
Add the following line to the file:
net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding = 0
Reload settings from all system configuration files with the following command:
$ sudo sysctl --system