DISA STIGS Viewer

NixOS must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography for the following: to provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect unclassified information requiring confidentiality and cryptographic protection in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards.

Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-268168 ANIX-00-001840 SV-268168r1039392_rule   High
Description
Use of weak or untested encryption algorithms undermines the purposes of using encryption to protect data. The operating system must implement cryptographic modules adhering to the higher standards approved by the federal government since this provides assurance they have been tested and validated. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000478-GPOS-00223, SRG-OS-000396-GPOS-00176
STIG Date
Anduril NixOS Security Technical Implementation Guide 2024-10-25

Details

Check Text (C-72092r1039390_chk)
Verify NixOS is configured to operate in FIPS mode with the following command:

$ grep fips /proc/cmdline

BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,msdos1)/nix/store/glc0midc78caq9sc7pzciymx4c3in7kn-linux-6.1.64/bzImage init=/nix/store/grl4baymr9q60mbcz3sidm4agckn3bx5-nixos-system-nixos-23.1.1.20231129.057f9ae/init audit=1 audit_backlog_limit=8192 fips=1 loglevel=4

If the "fips" entry does not equal "1" or is missing, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-71995r1039391_fix)
Configure NixOS to run in FIPS mode. Add "fips=1" to the kernel parameters by adding to the boot.kernelParams option in /etc/nixos/configuration.nix:

boot.kernelParams = [ "fips=1" ];

Rebuild the NixOS configuration with the following command:

$ sudo nixos-rebuild switch

A reboot is required for the changes to take effect.