IP forwarding for IPv4 must not be enabled, unless the system is a router.

From Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-50312r2_rule IP forwarding for IPv4 must not be enabled, unless the system is a router.

Vulnerability discussion

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.

Check content

The status of the "net.ipv4.ip_forward" kernel parameter can be queried by running the following command: $ sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward The output of the command should indicate a value of "0". If this value is not the default value, investigate how it could have been adjusted at runtime, and verify it is not set improperly in "/etc/sysctl.conf". $ grep net.ipv4.ip_forward /etc/sysctl.conf The ability to forward packets is only appropriate for routers. If the correct value is not returned, this is a finding.

Fix text

To set the runtime status of the "net.ipv4.ip_forward" kernel parameter, run the following command: # sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=0 If this is not the system's default value, add the following line to "/etc/sysctl.conf": net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0

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