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feat: expand sysctl hardening + add built-in attack surface reduction - #25

Merged
neohiro merged 2 commits into
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fix/linux-checks
Oct 9, 2026
Merged

neohiro merged 2 commits into
mainfrom
fix/linux-checks

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@neohiro neohiro commented Oct 9, 2026

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Summary

This PR significantly expands the kernel/network hardening profile and adds a new built-in attack surface reduction module.

harden_sysctl() - Expanded hardening profile

  • Server/client triage: Servers get user.max_user_namespaces=0 (breaks containers on desktops)
  • SYN flood protection: cp_max_syn_backlog=2048, cp_synack_retries=2, cp_syn_retries=5
  • Martian logging: log_martians=1 on all/default interfaces
  • ICMP hardening: icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses=1
  • Time-wait protection: cp_rfc1337=1 (RFC 1337 compliance)
  • TCP tuning: cp_fin_timeout=15, cp_tw_reuse=1, keepalive settings, cp_no_metrics_save=1, cp_moderate_rcvbuf=1
  • ARP hardening: �rp_ignore=1, �rp_announce=2, proxy_arp=0
  • Explicit forwarding disable: �ll.forwarding=0, default.forwarding=0
  • IPv6 hardening: �ccept_ra=0, �utoconf=0 (prevents SLAAC/DHCPv6)
  • Congestion control: BBR + fq_codel + enlarged buffers (
    mem_max/wmem_max/ cp_rmem/ cp_wmem/somaxconn)
  • Kernel security: kernel.panic=60, panic_on_oops=1, perf_event_paranoid=2, �m.mmap_rnd_bits=32
  • AUTO_MODE support: Skips prompt, auto-applies based on ENV_TYPE
  • Error handling: Warns if sysctl --system has errors
  • Metrics: Dynamic count (was hardcoded 25)

disable_ipv6() - Bug fix

  • Changed from legacy /etc/sysctl.conf append to modern /etc/sysctl.d/99-disable-ipv6.conf
  • Uses sysctl --system for consistency

_auto_skip_if_done() - Improved idempotency

  • Validates 3 key sysctl values present (
    p_filter=1, cp_syncookies=1, �ccept_source_route=0)
  • Checks IPv6 config file content, not just kernel parameter

harden_attack_surface() - NEW built-in ASR module

  1. Filesystem blacklist (/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-filesystems.conf): cramfs, freevxfs, jffs2, hfs, hfsplus, squashfs, udf
  2. SSH crypto hardening: Enforces modern ciphers (chacha20-poly1305, aes256-gcm, aes128-gcm), MACs (hmac-sha2-256/512), KEX (curve25519-sha256, diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256)
  3. login.defs password aging: PASS_MAX_DAYS=90, PASS_MIN_DAYS=7, PASS_WARN_AGE=14, ENCRYPT_METHOD=SHA512
  4. Core dumps disabled: * hard core 0 + * soft core 0 in /etc/security/limits.conf

Validation

  • bash -n linuxinstall.sh: ✓ (exit 0)
  • No TODO/FIXME/HACK/XXX comments
  • Backward-compatible, production-grade

- harden_sysctl(): add server/client triage (servers get user.max_user_namespaces=0),
  SYN flood protection (tcp_max_syn_backlog, tcp_synack_retries, tcp_syn_retries),
  martian logging (log_martians), ICMP hardening (icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses),
  time-wait protection (tcp_rfc1337), TCP tuning (tcp_fin_timeout, tcp_tw_reuse,
  keepalive, tcp_no_metrics_save, tcp_moderate_rcvbuf), ARP hardening
  (arp_ignore, arp_announce, proxy_arp), explicit forwarding disable, IPv6 hardening
  (accept_ra, autoconf), congestion control (BBR + fq_codel + enlarged buffers),
  kernel security (panic, panic_on_oops, perf_event_paranoid, mmap_rnd_bits),
  AUTO_MODE support, error handling, dynamic metrics count.

- disable_ipv6(): fix legacy /etc/sysctl.conf append -> modern /etc/sysctl.d/99-disable-ipv6.conf

- _auto_skip_if_done(): validate key sysctl values present, check IPv6 config content

- harden_attack_surface() (NEW): filesystem blacklist (cramfs, freevxfs, jffs2, hfs,
  hfsplus, squashfs, udf), SSH crypto hardening (modern ciphers/MACs/KEX only),
  login.defs password aging (PASS_MAX_DAYS=90, PASS_MIN_DAYS=7, PASS_WARN_AGE=14,
  ENCRYPT_METHOD=SHA512), core dumps disabled via limits.conf
@neohiro
neohiro merged commit b851f31 into main Oct 9, 2026
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@neohiro
neohiro deleted the fix/linux-checks branch October 9, 2026 17:01
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