STIGQter STIGQter: STIG Summary: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 8 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

RHEL 8 must disable access to network bpf syscall from unprivileged processes.

DISA Rule

SV-230545r1017307_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-230545

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Rule Version

RHEL-08-040281

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure RHEL 8 to prevent privilege escalation thru the kernel by disabling access to the bpf syscall by adding the following line to a file, in the "/etc/sysctl.d" directory:

kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1

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

The system configuration files need to be reloaded for the changes to take effect. To reload the contents of the files, run the following command:

$ sudo sysctl --system

Check Contents

Verify RHEL 8 prevents privilege escalation thru the kernel by disabling access to the bpf syscall with the following commands:

$ sudo sysctl kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled

kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1

If the returned line does not have a value of "1", or a line is not returned, this is a finding.

Check that the configuration files are present to enable this network parameter.

$ sudo grep -r kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled /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.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1

If "kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled" is not set to "1", is missing or commented out, this is a finding.

If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-230545

Documentable

False

Rule Version

RHEL-08-040281

Severity Override Guidance

Verify RHEL 8 prevents privilege escalation thru the kernel by disabling access to the bpf syscall with the following commands:

$ sudo sysctl kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled

kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1

If the returned line does not have a value of "1", or a line is not returned, this is a finding.

Check that the configuration files are present to enable this network parameter.

$ sudo grep -r kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled /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.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1

If "kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled" is not set to "1", is missing or commented out, this is a finding.

If conflicting results are returned, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

2921