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RHEL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-230280RHEL-08-010430SV-230280r1017093_ruleCCI-002824medium
Description
Some adversaries launch attacks with the intent of executing code in non-executable regions of memory or in memory locations that are prohibited. Security safeguards employed to protect memory include, for example, data execution prevention and address space layout randomization. Data execution prevention safeguards can be either hardware-enforced or software-enforced with hardware providing the greater strength of mechanism. Examples of attacks are buffer overflow attacks. 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 4 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (5) 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.

CFG-02Secure Baseline Configurations
1.00
CRY-01Use of Cryptographic Controls
1.00
DCH-01Data Protection
1.00
IAC-21Least Privilege
1.00
SEA-10Memory Protection
1.00
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (14) 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-6(10)Prohibit Non-privileged Users from Executing Privileged Functions
1.00
AU-12Audit Record Generation
1.00
AU-3(1)Additional Audit Information
1.00
CM-6Configuration Settings
1.00
CM-7Least Functionality
1.00
CM-7(2)Prevent Program Execution
1.00
SC-2Separation of System and User Functionality
1.00
SC-3Security Function Isolation
1.00
SC-39Process Isolation
1.00
SC-5Denial-of-service Protection
1.00

+4 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

CCI1 mapping
CCI-002824
1.00
NIST CSF 2.00 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) 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.

PR.DS-10
1.00

Who does this work

7 NICE work roles and 7 EC-Council certifications.

This is an inference across published mappings, not a single claim by anyone. This check maps to a control, which maps to a Cybersecurity Framework outcome, which NIST assigns to the work roles below. EC-Council separately maps its certifications to those same roles.

A certification prepares someone for a role. It is not evidence that a holder is qualified, and neither NIST nor EC-Council has stated that any certification here addresses this check.

Work-role assignments published by NIST (NICE Framework Components 2.2.0 and the CSF 2.0 OLIR crosswalk). Certification mappings published by EC-Council.

Details

Check Text (C-230280r1017093_chk)

Verify RHEL 8 implements ASLR 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 -r 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-sysctl.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-32924r858766_fix)

Configure the operating system to implement virtual address space randomization. Add or edit the following line in a system configuration file, in the "/etc/sysctl.d/" directory: kernel.randomize_va_space=2 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