The system must use available memory address randomization techniques.

From Oracle Linux 5 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-63197r1_rule The system must use available memory address randomization techniques.

Vulnerability discussion

Successful exploitation of buffer overflow vulnerabilities relies in some measure to having a predictable address structure of the executing program. Address randomization techniques reduce the probability of a successful exploit.

Check content

Check that the "kernel.randomize_va_space" kernel parameter is set to "2" in /etc/sysctl.conf. Procedure: # grep ^kernel\.randomize_va_space /etc/sysctl.conf | awk -F= '{ print $2 }' If there is no value returned or if a value is returned that is not "2", this is a finding.

Fix text

Edit (or add if necessary) the entry in /etc/sysctl.conf for the "kernel.randomize_va_space" kernel parameter. Ensure this parameter is set to "2" as in: kernel.randomize_va_space = 2 If this was not already the default, reboot the system for the change to take effect.

Pro Tips

Lavender hyperlinks in small type off to the right (of CSS class id, if you view the page source) point to globally unique URIs for each document and item. Copy the link location and paste anywhere you need to talk unambiguously about these things.

You can obtain data about documents and items in other formats. Simply provide an HTTP header Accept: text/turtle or Accept: application/rdf+xml.