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RHEL 8 must prevent the loading of a new kernel for later execution.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-230266RHEL-08-010372SV-230266r1184246_ruleCCI-001749medium
Description
Changes to any software components can have significant effects on the overall security of the operating system. This requirement ensures the software has not been tampered with and that it has been provided by a trusted vendor. Disabling kexec_load prevents an unsigned kernel image (that could be a windows kernel or modified vulnerable kernel) from being loaded. Kexec can be used subvert the entire secureboot process and should be avoided at all costs especially since it can load unsigned kernel images. The sysctl --system command will load settings from all system configuration files. All configuration files are sorted by their filename in lexicographic order, regardless of which of the directories they reside in. If multiple files specify the same option, the entry in the file with the lexicographically latest name will take precedence. Files are read from directories in the following list from top to bottom. Once a file of a given filename is loaded, any file of the same name in subsequent directories is ignored. /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf /run/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/local/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /usr/lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /lib/sysctl.d/*.conf /etc/sysctl.conf
STIGDate
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-02-05

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 2 frameworks
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (12) 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-2(10)Shared and Group Account Credential Change
1.00
AU-4Audit Log Storage Capacity
1.00
CM-14Signed Components
1.00
CM-5(1)Automated Access Enforcement and Audit Records
1.00
CM-5(3)Signed Components
1.00
CM-7Least Functionality
1.00
CM-7(5)Authorized Software — Allow-by-exception
1.00
IA-2(5)Individual Authentication with Group Authentication
1.00
SC-2Separation of System and User Functionality
1.00
SC-23Session Authenticity
1.00

+2 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

CCI1 mapping
CCI-001749
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-230266r1184246_chk)

Verify RHEL 8 is configured to disable kernel image loading. Check the status of the "kernel.kexec_load_disabled" kernel parameter with the following command: $ sudo sysctl kernel.kexec_load_disabled kernel.kexec_load_disabled = 1 If "kernel.kexec_load_disabled" is not set to "1" or is missing, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-32910r1184245_fix)

Configure RHEL 8 to disable kernel image loading. Create a drop-in if it does not already exist: $ sudo vi /etc/sysctl.d/99-kernel_kexec_load_disabled.conf Add the following to the file: kernel.kexec_load_disabled = 1 Reload settings from all system configuration files with the following command: $ sudo sysctl --system