LowOS hardeningBLWK-KERNEL-002

Kernel pointers are exposed to unprivileged users

What this means

kernel.kptr_restrict is 0 — kernel pointer addresses in /proc are readable by any user, making kernel-exploit development easier (defeats KASLR for local attackers).

How to fix it

Set kernel.kptr_restrict=1 (or 2) via /etc/sysctl.d/ and run sysctl --system.

Check it yourself

Run a scan and look for BLWK-KERNEL-002 in the results:

bulwark scan

Installed the standalone CLI package instead of the app? The command is bulwarkctl.

How Bulwark decides

Bulwark reads sysctl_kernel and reports this check when:

kptr_restrict == 0

If a value can't be read, Bulwark reports the check as undetermined rather than passing it. View the rule source.

References

• CIS Benchmark 1.5.3

Related checks

• Cron entry runs a downloader piped to a shell · BLWK-ACCT-001
• Password maximum age is excessively long · BLWK-ACCT-002
• Password minimum age is zero · BLWK-ACCT-003
• Password hashing rounds are not explicitly configured · BLWK-ACCT-004
• Default UMASK is not explicitly configured · BLWK-ACCT-005
• A sensitive system file is world-writable · BLWK-FS-001