README.md

    kernel-hardening-checker

    (formerly kconfig-hardened-check)

    functional test functional test coverage
    engine unit-test unit-test coverage
    GitHub tag (latest by date) License: GPL v3

    Motivation

    There are plenty of security hardening options for the Linux kernel. A lot of them are not enabled by the major distros. We have to enable these options ourselves to make our systems more secure.

    But nobody likes checking configs manually. So let the computers do their job!

    kernel-hardening-checker (formerly kconfig-hardened-check) is a tool for checking the security hardening options of the Linux kernel.

    License: GPL-3.0.

    Repositories

    Features

    kernel-hardening-checker supports checking:

    • Kconfig options (compile-time)
    • Kernel cmdline arguments (boot-time)
    • Sysctl parameters (runtime)

    Supported microarchitectures:

    • X86_64
    • X86_32
    • ARM64
    • ARM

    The security hardening recommendations are based on:

    I also created the Linux Kernel Defence Map, which is a graphical representation of the relationships between security hardening features and the corresponding vulnerability classes or exploitation techniques.

    Attention!

    Changing Linux kernel security parameters may also affect system performance and functionality of userspace software. So for choosing these parameters, consider the threat model of your Linux-based information system and perform thorough testing of its typical workload.

    Installation

    You can install the package:

    pip install git+https://github.com/a13xp0p0v/kernel-hardening-checker
    

    or simply run ./bin/kernel-hardening-checker from the cloned repository.

    Some Linux distributions also provide kernel-hardening-checker as a package.

    Usage

    ./bin/kernel-hardening-checker -h
    usage: kernel-hardening-checker [-h] [--version] [-m {verbose,json,show_ok,show_fail}]
                                    [-a] [-c CONFIG] [-v KERNEL_VERSION] [-l CMDLINE] [-s SYSCTL]
                                    [-p {X86_64,X86_32,ARM64,ARM}]
                                    [-g {X86_64,X86_32,ARM64,ARM}]
    
    A tool for checking the security hardening options of the Linux kernel
    
    options:
      -h, --help            show this help message and exit
      --version             show program's version number and exit
      -m {verbose,json,show_ok,show_fail}, --mode {verbose,json,show_ok,show_fail}
                            choose the report mode
      -a, --autodetect      autodetect and check the security hardening options
                            of the running kernel
      -c CONFIG, --config CONFIG
                            check the security hardening options in the Kconfig file
                            (also supports *.gz files)
      -v KERNEL_VERSION, --kernel-version KERNEL_VERSION
                            extract version from the kernel version file (contents of
                            /proc/version) instead of Kconfig file
      -l CMDLINE, --cmdline CMDLINE
                            check the security hardening options in the kernel cmdline file
                            (contents of /proc/cmdline)
      -s SYSCTL, --sysctl SYSCTL
                            check the security hardening options in the sysctl output file
                            (`sudo sysctl -a > file`)
      -p {X86_64,X86_32,ARM64,ARM}, --print {X86_64,X86_32,ARM64,ARM}
                            print the security hardening recommendations for the selected
                            microarchitecture
      -g {X86_64,X86_32,ARM64,ARM}, --generate {X86_64,X86_32,ARM64,ARM}
                            generate a Kconfig fragment with the security hardening options
                            for the selected microarchitecture
    

    Output modes

    • no -m argument for the default output mode (see the example below)
    • -m verbose for printing additional info:
      • config options without a corresponding check
      • internals of complex checks with AND/OR, like this:
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        <<< OR >>>                                                                             
    CONFIG_STRICT_DEVMEM                    |kconfig|     y      |defconfig |cut_attack_surface
    CONFIG_DEVMEM                           |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    • -m show_fail for showing only the failed checks
    • -m show_ok for showing only the successful checks
    • -m json for printing the results in JSON format (for combining kernel-hardening-checker with other tools)

    Example output

    $ ./bin/kernel-hardening-checker -a
    [+] Going to autodetect and check the security hardening options of the running kernel
    [+] Detected version of the running kernel: (6, 5, 0)
    [+] Detected kconfig file of the running kernel: /boot/config-6.5.0-1025-azure
    [+] Detected cmdline parameters of the running kernel: /proc/cmdline
    [+] Saved sysctl output to /tmp/sysctl-n7hd4ab2
    [+] Detected microarchitecture: X86_64
    [+] Detected compiler: GCC 110400
    [!] WARNING: cmdline option "console" is found multiple times
    [!] WARNING: sysctl options available for root are not found in /tmp/sysctl-n7hd4ab2, try checking the output of `sudo sysctl -a`
    =========================================================================================================================
                  option_name               | type  |desired_val | decision |      reason      | check_result
    =========================================================================================================================
    CONFIG_BUG                              |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG                       |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_THREAD_INFO_IN_TASK              |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_IOMMU_SUPPORT                    |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_STACKPROTECTOR                   |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_STACKPROTECTOR_STRONG            |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_STRICT_KERNEL_RWX                |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_STRICT_MODULE_RWX                |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_REFCOUNT_FULL                    |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: version >= (5, 4, 208)
    CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO              |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_CPU_MITIGATIONS                  |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_SPECULATION_MITIGATIONS is "y"
    CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE                   |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_VMAP_STACK                       |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_DEBUG_WX                         |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_WERROR                           |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_X86_MCE                          |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_SYN_COOKIES                      |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MICROCODE                        |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MICROCODE_INTEL                  |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MICROCODE_AMD                    |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_X86_SMAP                         |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: version >= (5, 19, 0)
    CONFIG_X86_UMIP                         |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_X86_MCE_INTEL                    |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_X86_MCE_AMD                      |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MITIGATION_RETPOLINE             |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_RETPOLINE is "y"
    CONFIG_MITIGATION_RFDS                  |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_MITIGATION_SPECTRE_BHI           |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_MEMORY                 |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_X86_KERNEL_IBT                   |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_MITIGATION_PAGE_TABLE_ISOLATION  |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_PAGE_TABLE_ISOLATION is "y"
    CONFIG_MITIGATION_SRSO                  |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_CPU_SRSO is "y"
    CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU                      |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_AMD_IOMMU                        |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_RANDOM_KMALLOC_CACHES            |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_SLAB_MERGE_DEFAULT               |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_BUG_ON_DATA_CORRUPTION           |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED           |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_RANDOM             |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_SHUFFLE_PAGE_ALLOCATOR           |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_FORTIFY_SOURCE                   |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_DEBUG_VIRTUAL                    |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_DEBUG_SG                         |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_INIT_ON_ALLOC_DEFAULT_ON         |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER            |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_SCHED_CORE                       |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_SECURITY_LOCKDOWN_LSM            |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_SECURITY_LOCKDOWN_LSM_EARLY      |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_LOCK_DOWN_KERNEL_FORCE_CONFIDENTIALITY|kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_LIST_HARDENED                    |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_DEBUG_CREDENTIALS                |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_DEBUG_NOTIFIERS                  |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_SCHED_STACK_END_CHECK            |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_KFENCE                           |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_KFENCE_SAMPLE_INTERVAL           |kconfig|    100     |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "0"
    CONFIG_RANDSTRUCT_FULL                  |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_HARDENED_USERCOPY                |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_HARDENED_USERCOPY_FALLBACK       |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    CONFIG_HARDENED_USERCOPY_PAGESPAN       |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    CONFIG_GCC_PLUGIN_LATENT_ENTROPY        |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_MODULE_SIG                       |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MODULE_SIG_ALL                   |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MODULE_SIG_SHA512                |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MODULE_SIG_FORCE                 |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_INIT_ON_FREE_DEFAULT_ON          |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_EFI_DISABLE_PCI_DMA              |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_RESET_ATTACK_MITIGATION          |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_UBSAN_BOUNDS                     |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_UBSAN_LOCAL_BOUNDS               |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_UBSAN_BOUNDS is "y"
    CONFIG_UBSAN_TRAP                       |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: CONFIG_UBSAN_ENUM is not "is not set"
    CONFIG_UBSAN_SANITIZE_ALL               |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_GCC_PLUGIN_STACKLEAK             |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_STACKLEAK_METRICS                |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: CONFIG_GCC_PLUGIN_STACKLEAK is not "y"
    CONFIG_STACKLEAK_RUNTIME_DISABLE        |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: CONFIG_GCC_PLUGIN_STACKLEAK is not "y"
    CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_KSTACK_OFFSET_DEFAULT  |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_PAGE_TABLE_CHECK                 |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_PAGE_TABLE_CHECK_ENFORCED        |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    CONFIG_CFI_CLANG                        |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: CONFIG_CC_IS_CLANG is not "y"
    CONFIG_CFI_PERMISSIVE                   |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: CONFIG_CC_IS_CLANG is not "y"
    CONFIG_HW_RANDOM_TPM                    |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_DEFAULT_MMAP_MIN_ADDR            |kconfig|   65536    |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_IOMMU_DEFAULT_DMA_STRICT         |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_IOMMU_DEFAULT_PASSTHROUGH        |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU_DEFAULT_ON           |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_MITIGATION_SLS                   |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_SLS is "y"
    CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU_SVM                  |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    CONFIG_AMD_IOMMU_V2                     |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_CFI_AUTO_DEFAULT                 |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v | self_protection  | FAIL: CONFIG_CFI_AUTO_DEFAULT is not present
    CONFIG_SECURITY                         |kconfig|     y      |defconfig | security_policy  | OK
    CONFIG_SECURITY_YAMA                    |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | security_policy  | OK
    CONFIG_SECURITY_LANDLOCK                |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | security_policy  | OK
    CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_DISABLE         |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | security_policy  | OK: is not found
    CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_BOOTPARAM       |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | security_policy  | FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_DEVELOP         |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | security_policy  | FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_SECURITY_WRITABLE_HOOKS          |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | security_policy  | OK: is not found
    CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX_DEBUG           |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   | security_policy  | OK: is not found
    CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX                 |kconfig|     y      |a13xp0p0v | security_policy  | OK
    CONFIG_SECCOMP                          |kconfig|     y      |defconfig |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_SECCOMP_FILTER                   |kconfig|     y      |defconfig |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_BPF_UNPRIV_DEFAULT_OFF           |kconfig|     y      |defconfig |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_STRICT_DEVMEM                    |kconfig|     y      |defconfig |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_X86_INTEL_TSX_MODE_OFF           |kconfig|     y      |defconfig |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_SECURITY_DMESG_RESTRICT          |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_ACPI_CUSTOM_METHOD               |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_COMPAT_BRK                       |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_DEVKMEM                          |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC                      |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_INET_DIAG                        |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_KEXEC                            |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_PROC_KCORE                       |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_LEGACY_PTYS                      |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_HIBERNATION                      |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_COMPAT                           |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_IA32_EMULATION                   |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_X86_X32                          |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_X86_X32_ABI                      |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_MODIFY_LDT_SYSCALL               |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_OABI_COMPAT                      |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_X86_MSR                          |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_LEGACY_TIOCSTI                   |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_MODULE_FORCE_LOAD                |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_MODULES                          |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_DEVMEM                           |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_IO_STRICT_DEVMEM                 |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_LDISC_AUTOLOAD                   |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_X86_VSYSCALL_EMULATION           |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_COMPAT_VDSO                      |kconfig| is not set |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_DRM_LEGACY                       |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_FB                               |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_VT                               |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_BLK_DEV_FD                       |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_BLK_DEV_FD_RAWCMD                |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_NOUVEAU_LEGACY_CTX_SUPPORT       |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_N_GSM                            |kconfig| is not set |maintainer|cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_ZSMALLOC_STAT                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_DEBUG_KMEMLEAK                   |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_BINFMT_AOUT                      |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_KPROBE_EVENTS                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_UPROBE_EVENTS                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_GENERIC_TRACER                   |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_FUNCTION_TRACER                  |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_STACK_TRACER                     |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_HIST_TRIGGERS                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IO_TRACE                 |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_PROC_VMCORE                      |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_PROC_PAGE_MONITOR                |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_USELIB                           |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_CHECKPOINT_RESTORE               |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_USERFAULTFD                      |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_HWPOISON_INJECT                  |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_MEM_SOFT_DIRTY                   |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_DEVPORT                          |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_DEBUG_FS                         |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_NOTIFIER_ERROR_INJECTION         |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_FAIL_FUTEX                       |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_PUNIT_ATOM_DEBUG                 |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_ACPI_CONFIGFS                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_EDAC_DEBUG                       |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_DRM_I915_DEBUG                   |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_DVB_C8SECTPFE                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_MTD_SLRAM                        |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_MTD_PHRAM                        |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_IO_URING                         |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_KCMP                             |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_RSEQ                             |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_LATENCYTOP                       |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_KCOV                             |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_PROVIDE_OHCI1394_DMA_INIT        |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_SUNRPC_DEBUG                     |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_X86_16BIT                        |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_BLK_DEV_UBLK                     |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_SMB_SERVER                       |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_XFS_ONLINE_SCRUB_STATS           |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_CACHESTAT_SYSCALL                |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_PREEMPTIRQ_TRACEPOINTS           |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_ENABLE_DEFAULT_TRACERS           |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_PROVE_LOCKING                    |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_TEST_DEBUG_VIRTUAL               |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_MPTCP                            |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_TLS                              |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_TIPC                             |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_IP_SCTP                          |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_KGDB                             |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_PTDUMP_DEBUGFS                   |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_X86_PTDUMP                       |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_DEBUG_CLOSURES                   |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_BCACHE_CLOSURES_DEBUG            |kconfig| is not set |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_STAGING                          |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_KSM                              |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_KALLSYMS                         |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_KEXEC_FILE                       |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_CRASH_DUMP                       |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_USER_NS                          |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_X86_CPUID                        |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_X86_IOPL_IOPERM                  |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_ACPI_TABLE_UPGRADE               |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_EFI_CUSTOM_SSDT_OVERLAYS         |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_AIO                              |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_MAGIC_SYSRQ                      |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_MAGIC_SYSRQ_SERIAL               |kconfig| is not set |grapheneos|cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_EFI_TEST                         |kconfig| is not set | lockdown |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_MMIOTRACE_TEST                   |kconfig| is not set | lockdown |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_KPROBES                          |kconfig| is not set | lockdown |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_BPF_SYSCALL                      |kconfig| is not set | lockdown |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_MMIOTRACE                        |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_LIVEPATCH                        |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_IP_DCCP                          |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_FTRACE                           |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_VIDEO_VIVID                      |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_INPUT_EVBUG                      |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "m"
    CONFIG_CORESIGHT                        |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_XFS_SUPPORT_V4                   |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_BLK_DEV_WRITE_MOUNTED            |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_FAULT_INJECTION                  |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_ARM_PTDUMP_DEBUGFS               |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_ARM_PTDUMP                       |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_SECCOMP_CACHE_DEBUG              |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK
    CONFIG_LKDTM                            |kconfig| is not set |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    CONFIG_TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS                |kconfig|     y      |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "is not set"
    CONFIG_COREDUMP                         |kconfig| is not set |  clipos  | harden_userspace | FAIL: "y"
    CONFIG_ARCH_MMAP_RND_BITS               |kconfig|     32     |a13xp0p0v | harden_userspace | OK
    CONFIG_ARCH_MMAP_RND_COMPAT_BITS        |kconfig|     16     |a13xp0p0v | harden_userspace | OK
    CONFIG_X86_USER_SHADOW_STACK            |kconfig|     y      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | FAIL: is not found
    nosmep                                  |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nosmap                                  |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nokaslr                                 |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nopti                                   |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nospectre_v1                            |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nospectre_v2                            |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nospectre_bhb                           |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    nospec_store_bypass_disable             |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    dis_ucode_ldr                           |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    arm64.nobti                             |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    arm64.nopauth                           |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    arm64.nomte                             |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    spectre_v2                              |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    spectre_v2_user                         |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    spectre_bhi                             |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    spec_store_bypass_disable               |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    l1tf                                    |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    mds                                     |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    tsx_async_abort                         |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    srbds                                   |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    mmio_stale_data                         |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    retbleed                                |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    spec_rstack_overflow                    |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    gather_data_sampling                    |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    reg_file_data_sampling                  |cmdline| is not off |defconfig | self_protection  | FAIL: is off, not found
    rodata                                  |cmdline|     on     |defconfig | self_protection  | OK: rodata is not found
    slab_merge                              |cmdline| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    slub_merge                              |cmdline| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    page_alloc.shuffle                      |cmdline|     1      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    slab_nomerge                            |cmdline| is present |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not present
    init_on_alloc                           |cmdline|     1      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_INIT_ON_ALLOC_DEFAULT_ON is "y"
    init_on_free                            |cmdline|     1      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    hardened_usercopy                       |cmdline|     1      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_HARDENED_USERCOPY is "y"
    slab_common.usercopy_fallback           |cmdline| is not set |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: is not found
    kfence.sample_interval                  |cmdline|    100     |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    iommu.strict                            |cmdline|     1      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    iommu.passthrough                       |cmdline|     0      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_IOMMU_DEFAULT_PASSTHROUGH is "is not set"
    randomize_kstack_offset                 |cmdline|     1      |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK: CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_KSTACK_OFFSET_DEFAULT is "y"
    mitigations                             |cmdline| auto,nosmt |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    pti                                     |cmdline|     on     |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    cfi                                     |cmdline|    kcfi    |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    iommu                                   |cmdline|   force    |  clipos  | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    tsx                                     |cmdline|    off     |defconfig |cut_attack_surface| OK: CONFIG_X86_INTEL_TSX_MODE_OFF is "y"
    nosmt                                   |cmdline| is present |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: is not present
    vsyscall                                |cmdline|    none    |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: is not found
    vdso32                                  |cmdline|     0      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK: CONFIG_COMPAT_VDSO is "is not set"
    debugfs                                 |cmdline|    off     |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: is not found
    sysrq_always_enabled                    |cmdline| is not set |grapheneos|cut_attack_surface| OK: is not found
    bdev_allow_write_mounted                |cmdline|     0      |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| OK: CONFIG_BLK_DEV_WRITE_MOUNTED is not found
    ia32_emulation                          |cmdline|     0      |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: is not found
    norandmaps                              |cmdline| is not set |defconfig | harden_userspace | OK: is not found
    net.core.bpf_jit_harden                 |sysctl |     2      |   kspp   | self_protection  | FAIL: is not found
    kernel.oops_limit                       |sysctl |    100     |a13xp0p0v | self_protection  | FAIL: "10000"
    kernel.warn_limit                       |sysctl |    100     |a13xp0p0v | self_protection  | FAIL: "0"
    vm.mmap_min_addr                        |sysctl |   65536    |   kspp   | self_protection  | OK
    kernel.dmesg_restrict                   |sysctl |     1      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    kernel.perf_event_paranoid              |sysctl |     3      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "4"
    user.max_user_namespaces                |sysctl |     0      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "63899"
    dev.tty.ldisc_autoload                  |sysctl |     0      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "1"
    kernel.kptr_restrict                    |sysctl |     2      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "1"
    dev.tty.legacy_tiocsti                  |sysctl |     0      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "1"
    kernel.kexec_load_disabled              |sysctl |     1      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "0"
    kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled        |sysctl |     1      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "2"
    vm.unprivileged_userfaultfd             |sysctl |     0      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| OK
    kernel.modules_disabled                 |sysctl |     1      |   kspp   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "0"
    kernel.io_uring_disabled                |sysctl |     2      |  grsec   |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "0"
    kernel.sysrq                            |sysctl |     0      |a13xp0p0v |cut_attack_surface| FAIL: "176"
    fs.protected_symlinks                   |sysctl |     1      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | OK
    fs.protected_hardlinks                  |sysctl |     1      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | OK
    fs.protected_fifos                      |sysctl |     2      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | FAIL: "1"
    fs.protected_regular                    |sysctl |     2      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | OK
    fs.suid_dumpable                        |sysctl |     0      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | FAIL: "2"
    kernel.randomize_va_space               |sysctl |     2      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | OK
    kernel.yama.ptrace_scope                |sysctl |     3      |   kspp   | harden_userspace | FAIL: "1"
    vm.mmap_rnd_bits                        |sysctl |     32     |a13xp0p0v | harden_userspace | FAIL: is not found
    vm.mmap_rnd_compat_bits                 |sysctl |     16     |a13xp0p0v | harden_userspace | FAIL: is not found
    
    [+] Config check is finished: 'OK' - 145 / 'FAIL' - 153
    

    Generating a Kconfig fragment with the security hardening options

    With the -g argument, the tool generates a Kconfig fragment with the security hardening options for the selected microarchitecture.

    This Kconfig fragment can be merged with the existing Linux kernel config:

    $ ./bin/kernel-hardening-checker -g X86_64 > /tmp/fragment
    $ cd ~/linux-src/
    $ ./scripts/kconfig/merge_config.sh .config /tmp/fragment
    Using .config as base
    Merging /tmp/fragment
    Value of CONFIG_BUG_ON_DATA_CORRUPTION is redefined by fragment /tmp/fragment:
    Previous value: # CONFIG_BUG_ON_DATA_CORRUPTION is not set
    New value: CONFIG_BUG_ON_DATA_CORRUPTION=y
     ...
    

    Thanks

    Thanks to the contributors and users of this project!

    Questions and answers

    Q: How all these kernel parameters influence the Linux kernel security?

    A: To answer this question, you can use the kernel-hardening-checker sources of recommendations and the Linux Kernel Defence Map with its references.


    Q: How disabling CONFIG_USER_NS cuts the attack surface? It’s needed for containers!

    A: Yes, the CONFIG_USER_NS option provides some isolation between the userspace programs, but the tool recommends disabling it to cut the attack surface of the kernel.

    The rationale:

    • An LWN article about the corresponding LKML discussion: https://lwn.net/Articles/673597/

    • A twitter thread about CONFIG_USER_NS and security: https://twitter.com/robertswiecki/status/1095447678949953541

    • A good overview of the trade-off between having user namespaces enabled, disabled and available only for root: https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/84522#issuecomment-614640601


    Q: KSPP and CLIP OS recommend CONFIG_PANIC_ON_OOPS=y. Why doesn’t this tool do the same?

    A: I can’t support this recommendation because:

    • It decreases system robustness (kernel oops is still not a rare situation even on production systems)
    • It allows easier denial-of-service attacks for the whole system

    You should enable CONFIG_PANIC_ON_OOPS if:

    • Your kernel doesn’t encounter oopses during a typical workload
    • Occasional system reboot is not a problem in your use case

    I see a good compromise, which kernel-hardening-checker recommends:

    • Enable the CONFIG_BUG kconfig option. If a kernel oops happens in the process context, the offending/attacking process is killed. In other cases, the kernel panics, which is similar to CONFIG_PANIC_ON_OOPS=y.
    • Set the sysctl options kernel.oops_limit and kernel.warn_limit to 100, for example. On the one hand, this value doesn’t allow easy DoS. On the other hand, it is not too large to miss the vulnerability exploitation attempts generating a lot of kernel warnings or oopses.


    Q: Why enabling CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER breaks various things in my GNU/Linux system? Do I really need that feature?

    A: Linux kernel usermode helpers can be used for privilege escalation in kernel exploits (example 1, example 2). CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER prevents that method. But it requires the corresponding support in the userspace: see the example implementation by Tycho Andersen @tych0.


    Q: What about performance impact of these security hardening options?

    A: Ike Devolder @BlackIkeEagle made some performance tests and described the results in this article. A more detailed evaluation is in the TODO list (the issue #66).


    Q: Can I easily check which kernel versions support some Kconfig option?

    A: Yes. See the LKDDb project (Linux Kernel Driver Database) by Giacomo Catenazzi @cateee. You can use it for the mainline or stable tree from kernel.org or for your custom kernel sources.


    Q: Does my kernel have all those mitigations of Transient Execution Vulnerabilities in my hardware?

    A: Checking the kernel config is not enough to answer this question. I highly recommend using spectre-meltdown-checker tool maintained by Stéphane Lesimple @speed47.


    Q: Why the CONFIG_GCC_PLUGINS option is automatically disabled during the kernel compilation?

    A: It means that your gcc doesn’t support plugins. For example, if you have gcc-14 on Ubuntu, try to install gcc-14-plugin-dev package, it should help.

    Описание

    A tool for checking the security hardening options of the Linux kernel

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