RHEL 10 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-281315 | RHEL-10-701130 | SV-281315r1208802_rule | CCI-002824 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| ASLR makes it more difficult for an attacker to predict the location of attack code they have introduced into a process's address space during an attempt at exploitation. Additionally, ASLR makes it more difficult for an attacker to know the location of existing code to repurpose it using return-oriented programming techniques. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-05-14 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-281315r1208802_chk)
Verify RHEL 10 is implementing ASLR.
Check the status of the "kernel.randomize_va_space" kernel parameter with the following command:
$ sudo sysctl kernel.randomize_va_space
kernel.randomize_va_space = 2
If "kernel.randomize_va_space" is not set to "2", this is a finding.
Check that the configuration files are present to enable this kernel parameter.
$ sudo grep -rs kernel.randomize_va_space /run/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /etc/sysctl.conf /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf
/etc/sysctl.d/99-kernel_randomize_va_space.conf:kernel.randomize_va_space = 2
If "kernel.randomize_va_space" is not set to "2", is missing or commented out, this is a finding.
If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-85781r1208801_fix)
Configure RHEL 10 to implement ASLR.
$ echo 'kernel.randomize_va_space = 2' | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-kernel_randomize_va_space.conf
Remove any configurations that conflict with the above from the following locations:
/run/sysctl.d/*.conf
/usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf
/usr/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf
/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf
/etc/sysctl.conf
/etc/sysctl.d/*.conf
Issue the following command to make the changes take effect:
$ sudo sysctl --system