---
title: "HOST-KRN-005 IP Forwarding Enabled"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-KRN-005.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-KRN-005.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# HOST-KRN-005 IP Forwarding Enabled

Checks that the server does not route packets between networks.

- Domain: Server
- Severity: Low
- Control category: Secure Configuration
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 4.1
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-1188
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: SC-7, CM-6
- Benchmark topic: Kernel parameters: net.ipv4.ip_forward (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

A server that forwards packets can be used to pivot between networks. Only routers, VPN gateways and container hosts need this.

## How It Detects

Reads /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward directly and compares it with the hardened value 0. When a container runtime or Kubernetes node is detected read-only (runtime sockets such as /var/run/docker.sock, /run/containerd/containerd.sock or /run/crio/crio.sock, /etc/kubernetes, or bridge interfaces such as docker0, cni0, cbr0 or flannel.1 in /sys/class/net), forwarding is required: the check then passes with context when the FORWARD path is filtered (iptables or nftables forward policy drop, or DROP/REJECT rules in DOCKER-USER), fails when forwarded traffic is accepted by default, and is incomplete when the policy cannot be read.

## How to Fix

Create /etc/sysctl.d/60-openvapt-hardening.conf containing:  net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0  then apply with: sysctl --system

## How to Verify

```
sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward  should print 0.
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P1 Linux Server Hardening](https://openvapt.com/academy/p1.md)

## References

- [Linux kernel documentation, IP sysctl](https://docs.kernel.org/networking/ip-sysctl.html)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/host/kernel.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only HOST-KRN-005`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain HOST-KRN-005`.

---

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