Configuring firewalls and packet filters
Managing the firewalld service, the nftables framework, and XDP packet filtering features
Abstract
firewalld
service and the nftables
framework to filter network traffic and build performance-critical firewalls. You can also use the Express Data Path (XDP) feature of the kernel to process or drop network packets at the network interface at a very high rate.
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Chapter 1. Using and configuring firewalld
A firewall is a way to protect machines from any unwanted traffic from outside. It enables users to control incoming network traffic on host machines by defining a set of firewall rules. These rules are used to sort the incoming traffic and either block it or allow through.
firewalld
is a firewall service daemon that provides a dynamic customizable host-based firewall with a D-Bus interface. Being dynamic, it enables creating, changing, and deleting the rules without the necessity to restart the firewall daemon each time the rules are changed.
firewalld
uses the concepts of zones and services, that simplify the traffic management. Zones are predefined sets of rules. Network interfaces and sources can be assigned to a zone. The traffic allowed depends on the network your computer is connected to and the security level this network is assigned. Firewall services are predefined rules that cover all necessary settings to allow incoming traffic for a specific service and they apply within a zone.
Services use one or more ports or addresses for network communication. Firewalls filter communication based on ports. To allow network traffic for a service, its ports must be open. firewalld
blocks all traffic on ports that are not explicitly set as open. Some zones, such as trusted, allow all traffic by default.
Note that firewalld
with nftables
backend does not support passing custom nftables
rules to firewalld
, using the --direct
option.
1.1. When to use firewalld, nftables, or iptables
The following is a brief overview in which scenario you should use one of the following utilities:
-
firewalld
: Use thefirewalld
utility for simple firewall use cases. The utility is easy to use and covers the typical use cases for these scenarios. -
nftables
: Use thenftables
utility to set up complex and performance-critical firewalls, such as for a whole network. -
iptables
: Theiptables
utility on Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses thenf_tables
kernel API instead of thelegacy
back end. Thenf_tables
API provides backward compatibility so that scripts that useiptables
commands still work on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For new firewall scripts, Red Hat recommends to usenftables
.
To prevent the different firewall-related services (firewalld
, nftables
, or iptables
) from influencing each other, run only one of them on a RHEL host, and disable the other services.
1.2. Firewall zones
You can use the firewalld
utility to separate networks into different zones according to the level of trust that you have with the interfaces and traffic within that network. A connection can only be part of one zone, but you can use that zone for many network connections.
firewalld
follows strict principles in regards to zones:
- Traffic ingresses only one zone.
- Traffic egresses only one zone.
- A zone defines a level of trust.
- Intrazone traffic (within the same zone) is allowed by default.
- Interzone traffic (from zone to zone) is denied by default.
Principles 4 and 5 are a consequence of principle 3.
Principle 4 is configurable through the zone option --remove-forward
. Principle 5 is configurable by adding new policies.
NetworkManager
notifies firewalld
of the zone of an interface. You can assign zones to interfaces with the following utilities:
-
NetworkManager
-
firewall-config
utility -
firewall-cmd
utility - The RHEL web console
The RHEL web console, firewall-config
, and firewall-cmd
can only edit the appropriate NetworkManager
configuration files. If you change the zone of the interface using the web console, firewall-cmd
, or firewall-config
, the request is forwarded to NetworkManager
and is not handled by firewalld
.
The /usr/lib/firewalld/zones/
directory stores the predefined zones, and you can instantly apply them to any available network interface. These files are copied to the /etc/firewalld/zones/
directory only after they are modified. The default settings of the predefined zones are as follows:
block
-
Suitable for: Any incoming network connections are rejected with an icmp-host-prohibited message for
IPv4
and icmp6-adm-prohibited forIPv6
. - Accepts: Only network connections initiated from within the system.
-
Suitable for: Any incoming network connections are rejected with an icmp-host-prohibited message for
dmz
- Suitable for: Computers in your DMZ that are publicly-accessible with limited access to your internal network.
- Accepts: Only selected incoming connections.
drop
Suitable for: Any incoming network packets are dropped without any notification.
- Accepts: Only outgoing network connections.
external
- Suitable for: External networks with masquerading enabled, especially for routers. Situations when you do not trust the other computers on the network.
- Accepts: Only selected incoming connections.
home
- Suitable for: Home environment where you mostly trust the other computers on the network.
- Accepts: Only selected incoming connections.
internal
- Suitable for: Internal networks where you mostly trust the other computers on the network.
- Accepts: Only selected incoming connections.
public
- Suitable for: Public areas where you do not trust other computers on the network.
- Accepts: Only selected incoming connections.
trusted
- Accepts: All network connections.
work
Suitable for: Work environment where you mostly trust the other computers on the network.
- Accepts: Only selected incoming connections.
One of these zones is set as the default zone. When interface connections are added to NetworkManager
, they are assigned to the default zone. On installation, the default zone in firewalld
is the public
zone. You can change the default zone.
Make network zone names self-explanatory to help users understand them quickly.
To avoid any security problems, review the default zone configuration and disable any unnecessary services according to your needs and risk assessments.
Additional resources
-
firewalld.zone(5)
man page
1.3. Firewall policies
The firewall policies specify the desired security state of your network. They outline rules and actions to take for different types of traffic. Typically, the policies contain rules for the following types of traffic:
- Incoming traffic
- Outgoing traffic
- Forward traffic
- Specific services and applications
- Network address translations (NAT)
Firewall policies use the concept of firewall zones. Each zone is associated with a specific set of firewall rules that determine the traffic allowed. Policies apply firewall rules in a stateful, unidirectional manner. This means you only consider one direction of the traffic. The traffic return path is implicitly allowed due to stateful filtering of firewalld
.
Policies are associated with an ingress zone and an egress zone. The ingress zone is where the traffic originated (received). The egress zone is where the traffic leaves (sent).
The firewall rules defined in a policy can reference the firewall zones to apply consistent configurations across multiple network interfaces.
1.4. Firewall rules
You can use the firewall rules to implement specific configurations for allowing or blocking network traffic. As a result, you can control the flow of network traffic to protect your system from security threats.
Firewall rules typically define certain criteria based on various attributes. The attributes can be as:
- Source IP addresses
- Destination IP addresses
- Transfer Protocols (TCP, UDP, …)
- Ports
- Network interfaces
The firewalld
utility organizes the firewall rules into zones (such as public
, internal
, and others) and policies. Each zone has its own set of rules that determine the level of traffic freedom for network interfaces associated with a particular zone.
1.5. Zone configuration files
A firewalld
zone configuration file contains the information for a zone. These are the zone description, services, ports, protocols, icmp-blocks, masquerade, forward-ports and rich language rules in an XML file format. The file name has to be zone-name.xml
where the length of zone-name is currently limited to 17 chars. The zone configuration files are located in the /usr/lib/firewalld/zones/
and /etc/firewalld/zones/
directories.
The following example shows a configuration that allows one service (SSH
) and one port range, for both the TCP
and UDP
protocols:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <zone> <short>My Zone</short> <description>Here you can describe the characteristic features of the zone.</description> <service name="ssh"/> <port protocol="udp" port="1025-65535"/> <port protocol="tcp" port="1025-65535"/> </zone>
Additional resources
-
firewalld.zone
manual page
1.6. Predefined firewalld services
The firewalld
service is a predefined set of firewall rules that define access to a specific application or network service. Each service represents a combination of the following elements:
- Local port
- Network protocol
- Associated firewall rules
- Source ports and destinations
- Firewall helper modules that load automatically if a service is enabled
A service simplifies packet filtering and saves you time because it achieves several tasks at once. For example, firewalld
can perform the following tasks at once:
- Open a port
- Define network protocol
- Enable packet forwarding
Service configuration options and generic file information are described in the firewalld.service(5)
man page. The services are specified by means of individual XML configuration files, which are named in the following format: service-name.xml
. Protocol names are preferred over service or application names in firewalld
.
You can configure firewalld
in the following ways:
Use utilities:
-
firewall-config
- graphical utility -
firewall-cmd
- command-line utility -
firewall-offline-cmd
- command-line utility
-
Edit the XML files in the
/etc/firewalld/services/
directory.If you do not add or change the service, no corresponding XML file exists in
/etc/firewalld/services/
. You can use the files in/usr/lib/firewalld/services/
as templates.
Additional resources
-
The
firewalld.service(5)
man page
1.7. Working with firewalld zones
Zones represent a concept to manage incoming traffic more transparently. The zones are connected to networking interfaces or assigned a range of source addresses. You manage firewall rules for each zone independently, which enables you to define complex firewall settings and apply them to the traffic.
1.7.1. Customizing firewall settings for a specific zone to enhance security
You can strengthen your network security by modifying the firewall settings and associating a specific network interface or connection with a particular firewall zone. By defining granular rules and restrictions for a zone, you can control inbound and outbound traffic based on your intended security levels.
For example, you can achieve the following benefits:
- Protection of sensitive data
- Prevention of unauthorized access
- Mitigation of potential network threats
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
List the available firewall zones:
# firewall-cmd --get-zones
The
firewall-cmd --get-zones
command displays all zones that are available on the system, but it does not show any details for particular zones. To see more detailed information for all zones, use thefirewall-cmd --list-all-zones
command.- Choose the zone you want to use for this configuration.
Modify firewall settings for the chosen zone. For example, to allow the
SSH
service and remove theftp
service:# firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh --zone=<your_chosen_zone> # firewall-cmd --remove-service=ftp --zone=<same_chosen_zone>
Assign a network interface to the firewall zone:
List the available network interfaces:
# firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
Activity of a zone is determined by the presence of network interfaces or source address ranges that match its configuration. The default zone is active for unclassified traffic but is not always active if no traffic matches its rules.
Assign a network interface to the chosen zone:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<your_chosen_zone> --change-interface=<interface_name> --permanent
Assigning a network interface to a zone is more suitable for applying consistent firewall settings to all traffic on a particular interface (physical or virtual).
The
firewall-cmd
command, when used with the--permanent
option, often involves updating NetworkManager connection profiles to make changes to the firewall configuration permanent. This integration betweenfirewalld
and NetworkManager ensures consistent network and firewall settings.
Verification
Display the updated settings for your chosen zone:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<your_chosen_zone> --list-all
The command output displays all zone settings including the assigned services, network interface, and network connections (sources).
1.7.2. Changing the default zone
System administrators assign a zone to a networking interface in its configuration files. If an interface is not assigned to a specific zone, it is assigned to the default zone. After each restart of the firewalld
service, firewalld
loads the settings for the default zone and makes it active. Note that settings for all other zones are preserved and ready to be used.
Typically, zones are assigned to interfaces by NetworkManager according to the connection.zone
setting in NetworkManager connection profiles. Also, after a reboot NetworkManager manages assignments for "activating" those zones.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
To set up the default zone:
Display the current default zone:
# firewall-cmd --get-default-zone
Set the new default zone:
# firewall-cmd --set-default-zone <zone_name>
NoteFollowing this procedure, the setting is a permanent setting, even without the
--permanent
option.
1.7.3. Assigning a network interface to a zone
It is possible to define different sets of rules for different zones and then change the settings quickly by changing the zone for the interface that is being used. With multiple interfaces, a specific zone can be set for each of them to distinguish traffic that is coming through them.
Procedure
To assign the zone to a specific interface:
List the active zones and the interfaces assigned to them:
# firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
Assign the interface to a different zone:
# firewall-cmd --zone=zone_name --change-interface=interface_name --permanent
1.7.4. Assigning a zone to a connection using nmcli
You can add a firewalld
zone to a NetworkManager
connection using the nmcli
utility.
Procedure
Assign the zone to the
NetworkManager
connection profile:# nmcli connection modify profile connection.zone zone_name
Activate the connection:
# nmcli connection up profile
1.7.5. Manually assigning a zone to a network connection in a connection profile file
If you cannot use the nmcli
utility to modify a connection profile, you can manually edit the corresponding file of the profile to assign a firewalld
zone.
Modifying the connection profile with the nmcli
utility to assign a firewalld
zone is more efficient. For details, see Assigning a network interface to a zone.
Procedure
Determine the path to the connection profile and its format:
# nmcli -f NAME,FILENAME connection NAME FILENAME enp1s0 /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/enp1s0.nmconnection enp7s0 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-enp7s0
NetworkManager uses separate directories and file names for the different connection profile formats:
-
Profiles in
/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/<connection_name>.nmconnection
files use the keyfile format. -
Profiles in
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<interface_name>
files use the ifcfg format.
-
Profiles in
Depending on the format, update the corresponding file:
If the file uses the keyfile format, append
zone=<name>
to the[connection]
section of the/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/<connection_name>.nmconnection
file:[connection] ... zone=internal
If the file uses the ifcfg format, append
ZONE=<name>
to the/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<interface_name>
file:ZONE=internal
Reload the connection profiles:
# nmcli connection reload
Reactivate the connection profiles
# nmcli connection up <profile_name>
Verification
Display the zone of the interface, for example:
# firewall-cmd --get-zone-of-interface enp1s0 internal
1.7.6. Creating a new zone
To use custom zones, create a new zone and use it just like a predefined zone. New zones require the --permanent
option, otherwise the command does not work.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Create a new zone:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-zone=zone-name
Make the new zone usable:
# firewall-cmd --reload
The command applies recent changes to the firewall configuration without interrupting network services that are already running.
Verification
Check if the new zone is added to your permanent settings:
# firewall-cmd --get-zones --permanent
1.7.7. Enabling zones by using the web console
You can apply predefined and existing firewall zones on a particular interface or a range of IP addresses through the RHEL web console.
Prerequisites
You have installed the RHEL 9 web console.
For instructions, see Installing and enabling the web console.
Procedure
Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.
For details, see Logging in to the web console.
- Click Networking.
Click on the
button.If you do not see the
button, log in to the web console with the administrator privileges.- In the Firewall section, click Add new zone.
In the Add zone dialog box, select a zone from the Trust level options.
The web console displays all zones predefined in the
firewalld
service.- In the Interfaces part, select an interface or interfaces on which the selected zone is applied.
In the Allowed Addresses part, you can select whether the zone is applied on:
- the whole subnet
or a range of IP addresses in the following format:
- 192.168.1.0
- 192.168.1.0/24
- 192.168.1.0/24, 192.168.1.0
Click on the
button.
Verification
Check the configuration in the Firewall section:
1.7.8. Disabling zones by using the web console
You can disable a firewall zone in your firewall configuration by using the web console.
Prerequisites
You have installed the RHEL 9 web console.
For instructions, see Installing and enabling the web console.
Procedure
Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.
For details, see Logging in to the web console.
- Click Networking.
Click on the
button.If you do not see the
button, log in to the web console with the administrator privileges.Click on the Options icon at the zone you want to remove.
- Click Delete.
The zone is now disabled and the interface does not include opened services and ports which were configured in the zone.
1.7.9. Using zone targets to set default behavior for incoming traffic
For every zone, you can set a default behavior that handles incoming traffic that is not further specified. Such behavior is defined by setting the target of the zone. There are four options:
-
ACCEPT
: Accepts all incoming packets except those disallowed by specific rules. -
REJECT
: Rejects all incoming packets except those allowed by specific rules. Whenfirewalld
rejects packets, the source machine is informed about the rejection. -
DROP
: Drops all incoming packets except those allowed by specific rules. Whenfirewalld
drops packets, the source machine is not informed about the packet drop. -
default
: Similar behavior as forREJECT
, but with special meanings in certain scenarios.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
To set a target for a zone:
List the information for the specific zone to see the default target:
# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --list-all
Set a new target in the zone:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=zone-name --set-target=<default|ACCEPT|REJECT|DROP>
Additional resources
-
firewall-cmd(1)
man page
1.8. Controlling network traffic using firewalld
The firewalld
package installs a large number of predefined service files and you can add more or customize them. You can then use these service definitions to open or close ports for services without knowing the protocol and port numbers they use.
1.8.1. Controlling traffic with predefined services using the CLI
The most straightforward method to control traffic is to add a predefined service to firewalld
. This opens all necessary ports and modifies other settings according to the service definition file.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Check that the service in
firewalld
is not already allowed:# firewall-cmd --list-services ssh dhcpv6-client
The command lists the services that are enabled in the default zone.
List all predefined services in
firewalld
:# firewall-cmd --get-services RH-Satellite-6 amanda-client amanda-k5-client bacula bacula-client bitcoin bitcoin-rpc bitcoin-testnet bitcoin-testnet-rpc ceph ceph-mon cfengine condor-collector ctdb dhcp dhcpv6 dhcpv6-client dns docker-registry ...
The command displays a list of available services for the default zone.
Add the service to the list of services that
firewalld
allows:# firewall-cmd --add-service=<service_name>
The command adds the specified service to the default zone.
Make the new settings persistent:
# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
The command applies these runtime changes to the permanent configuration of the firewall. By default, it applies these changes to the configuration of the default zone.
Verification
List all permanent firewall rules:
# firewall-cmd --list-all --permanent public target: default icmp-block-inversion: no interfaces: sources: services: cockpit dhcpv6-client ssh ports: protocols: forward: no masquerade: no forward-ports: source-ports: icmp-blocks: rich rules:
The command displays complete configuration with the permanent firewall rules of the default firewall zone (
public
).Check the validity of the permanent configuration of the
firewalld
service.# firewall-cmd --check-config success
If the permanent configuration is invalid, the command returns an error with further details:
# firewall-cmd --check-config Error: INVALID_PROTOCOL: 'public.xml': 'tcpx' not from {'tcp'|'udp'|'sctp'|'dccp'}
You can also manually inspect the permanent configuration files to verify the settings. The main configuration file is
/etc/firewalld/firewalld.conf
. The zone-specific configuration files are in the/etc/firewalld/zones/
directory and the policies are in the/etc/firewalld/policies/
directory.
1.8.2. Controlling traffic with predefined services using the GUI
You can control the network traffic with predefined services using a graphical user interface. The Firewall Configuration application provides an accessible and user-friendly alternative to the command-line utilities.
Prerequisites
-
You installed the
firewall-config
package. -
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
To enable or disable a predefined or custom service:
- Start the firewall-config utility and select the network zone whose services are to be configured.
-
Select the
Zones
tab and then theServices
tab below. - Select the checkbox for each type of service you want to trust or clear the checkbox to block a service in the selected zone.
To edit a service:
- Start the firewall-config utility.
-
Select
Permanent
from the menu labeledConfiguration
. Additional icons and menu buttons appear at the bottom of the window. - Select the service you want to configure.
The Ports
, Protocols
, and Source Port
tabs enable adding, changing, and removing of ports, protocols, and source port for the selected service. The modules tab is for configuring Netfilter helper modules. The Destination
tab enables limiting traffic to a particular destination address and Internet Protocol (IPv4
or IPv6
).
It is not possible to alter service settings in the Runtime
mode.
Verification
- Press the Super key to enter the Activities overview.
Select the Firewall Configuration utility.
-
You can also start the graphical firewall configuration utility using the command-line, by entering the
firewall-config
command.
-
You can also start the graphical firewall configuration utility using the command-line, by entering the
View the list of configurations of your firewall:
The Firewall Configuration
window opens. Note that this command can be run as a normal user, but you are prompted for an administrator password occasionally.
1.8.3. Enabling services on the firewall by using the web console
By default, services are added to the default firewall zone. If you use more firewall zones on more network interfaces, you must select a zone first and then add the service with port.
The RHEL 9 web console displays predefined firewalld
services and you can add them to active firewall zones.
The RHEL 9 web console configures the firewalld service.
The web console does not allow generic firewalld
rules which are not listed in the web console.
Prerequisites
You have installed the RHEL 9 web console.
For instructions, see Installing and enabling the web console.
Procedure
Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.
For details, see Logging in to the web console.
- Click Networking.
Click on the
button.If you do not see the
button, log in to the web console with the administrator privileges.In the Firewall section, select a zone for which you want to add the service and click Add Services.
- In the Add Services dialog box, find the service you want to enable on the firewall.
Enable services according to your scenario:
- Click Add Services.
At this point, the RHEL 9 web console displays the service in the zone’s list of Services.
1.8.4. Configuring custom ports by using the web console
You can add configure custom ports for services through the RHEL web console.
Prerequisites
You have installed the RHEL 9 web console.
For instructions, see Installing and enabling the web console.
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.
For details, see Logging in to the web console.
- Click Networking.
Click on the
button.If you do not see the
button, log in to the web console with the administrative privileges.In the Firewall section, select a zone for which you want to configure a custom port and click Add Services.
- In the Add services dialog box, click on the radio button.
In the TCP and UDP fields, add ports according to examples. You can add ports in the following formats:
- Port numbers such as 22
- Range of port numbers such as 5900-5910
- Aliases such as nfs, rsync
NoteYou can add multiple values into each field. Values must be separated with the comma and without the space, for example: 8080,8081,http
After adding the port number in the TCP filed, the UDP filed, or both, verify the service name in the Name field.
The Name field displays the name of the service for which is this port reserved. You can rewrite the name if you are sure that this port is free to use and no server needs to communicate on this port.
- In the Name field, add a name for the service including defined ports.
Click on the
button.
To verify the settings, go to the Firewall page and find the service in the list of zone’s Services.
1.8.5. Configuring firewalld to allow hosting a secure web server
Ports are logical services that enable an operating system to receive and distinguish network traffic and forward it to system services. The system services are represented by a daemon that listens on the port and waits for any traffic coming to this port.
Normally, system services listen on standard ports that are reserved for them. The httpd
daemon, for example, listens on port 80. However, system administrators can directly specify the port number instead of the service name.
You can use the firewalld
service to configure access to a secure web server for hosting your data.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Check the currently active firewall zone:
# firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
Add the HTTPS service to the appropriate zone:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<zone_name> --add-service=https --permanent
Reload the firewall configuration:
# firewall-cmd --reload
Verification
Check if the port is open in
firewalld
:If you opened the port by specifying the port number, enter:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<zone_name> --list-all
If you opened the port by specifying a service definition, enter:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<zone_name> --list-services
1.8.6. Closing unused or unnecessary ports to enhance network security
When an open port is no longer needed, you can use the firewalld
utility to close it.
Close all unnecessary ports to reduce the potential attack surface and minimize the risk of unauthorized access or exploitation of vulnerabilities.
Procedure
List all allowed ports:
# firewall-cmd --list-ports
By default, this command lists the ports that are enabled in the default zone.
NoteThis command will only give you a list of ports that are opened as ports. You will not be able to see any open ports that are opened as a service. For that case, consider using the
--list-all
option instead of--list-ports
.Remove the port from the list of allowed ports to close it for the incoming traffic:
# firewall-cmd --remove-port=port-number/port-type
This command removes a port from a zone. If you do not specify a zone, it will remove the port from the default zone.
Make the new settings persistent:
# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
Without specifying a zone, this command applies runtime changes to the permanent configuration of the default zone.
Verification
List the active zones and choose the zone you want to inspect:
# firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
List the currently open ports in the selected zone to check if the unused or unnecessary ports are closed:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<zone_to_inspect> --list-ports
1.8.7. Controlling traffic through the CLI
You can use the firewall-cmd
command to:
- disable networking traffic
- enable networking traffic
As a result, you can for example enhance your system defenses, ensure data privacy or optimize network resources.
Enabling panic mode stops all networking traffic. For this reason, it should be used only when you have the physical access to the machine or if you are logged in using a serial console.
Procedure
To immediately disable networking traffic, switch panic mode on:
# firewall-cmd --panic-on
Switching off panic mode reverts the firewall to its permanent settings. To switch panic mode off, enter:
# firewall-cmd --panic-off
Verification
To see whether panic mode is switched on or off, use:
# firewall-cmd --query-panic
1.8.8. Controlling traffic with protocols using GUI
To permit traffic through the firewall using a certain protocol, you can use the GUI.
Prerequisites
-
You installed the
firewall-config
package
Procedure
- Start the firewall-config tool and select the network zone whose settings you want to change.
-
Select the
Protocols
tab and click theAdd
button on the right-hand side. TheProtocol
window opens. -
Either select a protocol from the list or select the
Other Protocol
check box and enter the protocol in the field.
1.9. Using zones to manage incoming traffic depending on a source
You can use zones to manage incoming traffic based on its source. Incoming traffic in this context is any data that is destined for your system, or passes through the host running firewalld
. The source typically refers to the IP address or network range from which the traffic originates. As a result, you can sort incoming traffic and assign it to different zones to allow or disallow services that can be reached by that traffic.
Matching by source address takes precedence over matching by interface name. When you add a source to a zone, the firewall will prioritize the source-based rules for incoming traffic over interface-based rules. This means that if incoming traffic matches a source address specified for a particular zone, the zone associated with that source address will determine how the traffic is handled, regardless of the interface through which it arrives. On the other hand, interface-based rules are generally a fallback for traffic that does not match specific source-based rules. These rules apply to traffic, for which the source is not explicitly associated with a zone. This allows you to define a default behavior for traffic that does not have a specific source-defined zone.
1.9.1. Adding a source
To route incoming traffic into a specific zone, add the source to that zone. The source can be an IP address or an IP mask in the classless inter-domain routing (CIDR) notation.
In case you add multiple zones with an overlapping network range, they are ordered alphanumerically by zone name and only the first one is considered.
To set the source in the current zone:
# firewall-cmd --add-source=<source>
To set the source IP address for a specific zone:
# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --add-source=<source>
The following procedure allows all incoming traffic from 192.168.2.15 in the trusted
zone:
Procedure
List all available zones:
# firewall-cmd --get-zones
Add the source IP to the trusted zone in the permanent mode:
# firewall-cmd --zone=trusted --add-source=192.168.2.15
Make the new settings persistent:
# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
1.9.2. Removing a source
When you remove a source from a zone, the traffic which originates from the source is no longer directed through the rules specified for that source. Instead, the traffic falls back to the rules and settings of the zone associated with the interface from which it originates, or goes to the default zone.
Procedure
List allowed sources for the required zone:
# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --list-sources
Remove the source from the zone permanently:
# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --remove-source=<source>
Make the new settings persistent:
# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
1.9.3. Removing a source port
By removing a source port you disable sorting the traffic based on a port of origin.
Procedure
To remove a source port:
# firewall-cmd --zone=zone-name --remove-source-port=<port-name>/<tcp|udp|sctp|dccp>
1.9.4. Using zones and sources to allow a service for only a specific domain
To allow traffic from a specific network to use a service on a machine, use zones and source. The following procedure allows only HTTP traffic from the 192.0.2.0/24
network while any other traffic is blocked.
When you configure this scenario, use a zone that has the default
target. Using a zone that has the target set to ACCEPT
is a security risk, because for traffic from 192.0.2.0/24
, all network connections would be accepted.
Procedure
List all available zones:
# firewall-cmd --get-zones block dmz drop external home internal public trusted work
Add the IP range to the
internal
zone to route the traffic originating from the source through the zone:# firewall-cmd --zone=internal --add-source=192.0.2.0/24
Add the
http
service to theinternal
zone:# firewall-cmd --zone=internal --add-service=http
Make the new settings persistent:
# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
Verification
Check that the
internal
zone is active and that the service is allowed in it:# firewall-cmd --zone=internal --list-all internal (active) target: default icmp-block-inversion: no interfaces: sources: 192.0.2.0/24 services: cockpit dhcpv6-client mdns samba-client ssh http ...
Additional resources
-
firewalld.zones(5)
man page
1.10. Filtering forwarded traffic between zones
firewalld
enables you to control the flow of network data between different firewalld
zones. By defining rules and policies, you can manage how traffic is allowed or blocked when it moves between these zones.
The policy objects feature provides forward and output filtering in firewalld
. You can use firewalld
to filter traffic between different zones to allow access to locally hosted VMs to connect the host.
1.10.1. The relationship between policy objects and zones
Policy objects allow the user to attach firewalld’s primitives such as services, ports, and rich rules to the policy. You can apply the policy objects to traffic that passes between zones in a stateful and unidirectional manner.
# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-policy myOutputPolicy # firewall-cmd --permanent --policy myOutputPolicy --add-ingress-zone HOST # firewall-cmd --permanent --policy myOutputPolicy --add-egress-zone ANY
HOST
and ANY
are the symbolic zones used in the ingress and egress zone lists.
-
The
HOST
symbolic zone allows policies for the traffic originating from or has a destination to the host running firewalld. -
The
ANY
symbolic zone applies policy to all the current and future zones.ANY
symbolic zone acts as a wildcard for all zones.
1.10.2. Using priorities to sort policies
Multiple policies can apply to the same set of traffic, therefore, priorities should be used to create an order of precedence for the policies that may be applied.
To set a priority to sort the policies:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy mypolicy --set-priority -500
In the above example -500 is a lower priority value but has higher precedence. Thus, -500 will execute before -100.
Lower numerical priority values have higher precedence and are applied first.
1.10.3. Using policy objects to filter traffic between locally hosted containers and a network physically connected to the host
The policy objects feature allows users to filter traffic between Podman and firewalld zones.
Red Hat recommends blocking all traffic by default and opening the selective services needed for the Podman utility.
Procedure
Create a new firewall policy:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-policy podmanToAny
Block all traffic from Podman to other zones and allow only necessary services on Podman:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy podmanToAny --set-target REJECT # firewall-cmd --permanent --policy podmanToAny --add-service dhcp # firewall-cmd --permanent --policy podmanToAny --add-service dns # firewall-cmd --permanent --policy podmanToAny --add-service https
Create a new Podman zone:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-zone=podman
Define the ingress zone for the policy:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy podmanToHost --add-ingress-zone podman
Define the egress zone for all other zones:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy podmanToHost --add-egress-zone ANY
Setting the egress zone to ANY means that you filter from Podman to other zones. If you want to filter to the host, then set the egress zone to HOST.
Restart the firewalld service:
# systemctl restart firewalld
Verification
Verify the Podman firewall policy to other zones:
# firewall-cmd --info-policy podmanToAny podmanToAny (active) ... target: REJECT ingress-zones: podman egress-zones: ANY services: dhcp dns https ...
1.10.4. Setting the default target of policy objects
You can specify --set-target options for policies. The following targets are available:
-
ACCEPT
- accepts the packet -
DROP
- drops the unwanted packets -
REJECT
- rejects unwanted packets with an ICMP reply CONTINUE
(default) - packets will be subject to rules in following policies and zones.# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy mypolicy --set-target CONTINUE
Verification
Verify information about the policy
# firewall-cmd --info-policy mypolicy
1.10.5. Using DNAT to forward HTTPS traffic to a different host
If your web server runs in a DMZ with private IP addresses, you can configure destination network address translation (DNAT) to enable clients on the internet to connect to this web server. In this case, the host name of the web server resolves to the public IP address of the router. When a client establishes a connection to a defined port on the router, the router forwards the packets to the internal web server.
Prerequisites
- The DNS server resolves the host name of the web server to the router’s IP address.
You know the following settings:
- The private IP address and port number that you want to forward
- The IP protocol to be used
- The destination IP address and port of the web server where you want to redirect the packets
Procedure
Create a firewall policy:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-policy <example_policy>
The policies, as opposed to zones, allow packet filtering for input, output, and forwarded traffic. This is important, because forwarding traffic to endpoints on locally run web servers, containers, or virtual machines requires such capability.
Configure symbolic zones for the ingress and egress traffic to also enable the router itself to connect to its local IP address and forward this traffic:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy=<example_policy> --add-ingress-zone=HOST # firewall-cmd --permanent --policy=<example_policy> --add-egress-zone=ANY
The
--add-ingress-zone=HOST
option refers to packets generated locally and transmitted out of the local host. The--add-egress-zone=ANY
option refers to traffic moving to any zone.Add a rich rule that forwards traffic to the web server:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --policy=<example_policy> --add-rich-rule='rule family="ipv4" destination address="192.0.2.1" forward-port port="443" protocol="tcp" to-port="443" to-addr="192.51.100.20"'
The rich rule forwards TCP traffic from port 443 on the IP address of the router (192.0.2.1) to port 443 of the IP address of the web server (192.51.100.20).
Reload the firewall configuration files:
# firewall-cmd --reload success
Activate routing of 127.0.0.0/8 in the kernel:
For persistent changes, run:
# echo "net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet=1" > /etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-route-localnet.conf
The command persistently configures the
route_localnet
kernel parameter and ensures that the setting is preserved after the system reboots.For applying the settings immediately without a system reboot, run:
# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-route-localnet.conf
The
sysctl
command is useful for applying on-the-fly changes, however the configuration will not persist across system reboots.
Verification
Connect to the IP address of the router and to the port that you have forwarded to the web server:
# curl https://192.0.2.1:443
Optional: Verify that the
net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet
kernel parameter is active:# sysctl net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet = 1
Verify that
<example_policy>
is active and contains the settings you need, especially the source IP address and port, protocol to be used, and the destination IP address and port:# firewall-cmd --info-policy=<example_policy> example_policy (active) priority: -1 target: CONTINUE ingress-zones: HOST egress-zones: ANY services: ports: protocols: masquerade: no forward-ports: source-ports: icmp-blocks: rich rules: rule family="ipv4" destination address="192.0.2.1" forward-port port="443" protocol="tcp" to-port="443" to-addr="192.51.100.20"
Additional resources
-
firewall-cmd(1)
,firewalld.policies(5)
,firewalld.richlanguage(5)
,sysctl(8)
, andsysctl.conf(5)
man pages - Using configuration files in /etc/sysctl.d/ to adjust kernel parameters
1.11. Configuring NAT using firewalld
With firewalld
, you can configure the following network address translation (NAT) types:
- Masquerading
- Destination NAT (DNAT)
- Redirect
1.11.1. Network address translation types
These are the different network address translation (NAT) types:
- Masquerading
Use one of these NAT types to change the source IP address of packets. For example, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do not route private IP ranges, such as
10.0.0.0/8
. If you use private IP ranges in your network and users should be able to reach servers on the internet, map the source IP address of packets from these ranges to a public IP address.Masquerading automatically uses the IP address of the outgoing interface. Therefore, use masquerading if the outgoing interface uses a dynamic IP address.
- Destination NAT (DNAT)
- Use this NAT type to rewrite the destination address and port of incoming packets. For example, if your web server uses an IP address from a private IP range and is, therefore, not directly accessible from the internet, you can set a DNAT rule on the router to redirect incoming traffic to this server.
- Redirect
- This type is a special case of DNAT that redirects packets to a different port on the local machine. For example, if a service runs on a different port than its standard port, you can redirect incoming traffic from the standard port to this specific port.
1.11.2. Configuring IP address masquerading
You can enable IP masquerading on your system. IP masquerading hides individual machines behind a gateway when accessing the internet.
Procedure
To check if IP masquerading is enabled (for example, for the
external
zone), enter the following command asroot
:# firewall-cmd --zone=external --query-masquerade
The command prints
yes
with exit status0
if enabled. It printsno
with exit status1
otherwise. Ifzone
is omitted, the default zone will be used.To enable IP masquerading, enter the following command as
root
:# firewall-cmd --zone=external --add-masquerade
-
To make this setting persistent, pass the
--permanent
option to the command. To disable IP masquerading, enter the following command as
root
:# firewall-cmd --zone=external --remove-masquerade
To make this setting permanent, pass the
--permanent
option to the command.
1.11.3. Using DNAT to forward incoming HTTP traffic
You can use destination network address translation (DNAT) to direct incoming traffic from one destination address and port to another. Typically, this is useful for redirecting incoming requests from an external network interface to specific internal servers or services.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Create the
/etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-IP-forwarding.conf
file with the following content:net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
This setting enables IP forwarding in the kernel. It makes the internal RHEL server act as a router and forward packets from network to network.
Load the setting from the
/etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-IP-forwarding.conf
file:# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-IP-forwarding.conf
Forward incoming HTTP traffic:
# firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-forward-port=port=80:proto=tcp:toaddr=198.51.100.10:toport=8080 --permanent
The previous command defines a DNAT rule with the following settings:
-
--zone=public
- The firewall zone for which you configure the DNAT rule. You can adjust this to whatever zone you need. -
--add-forward-port
- The option that indicates you are adding a port-forwarding rule. -
port=80
- The external destination port. -
proto=tcp
- The protocol indicating that you forward TCP traffic. -
toaddr=198.51.100.10
- The destination IP address. -
toport=8080
- The destination port of the internal server. -
--permanent
- The option that makes the DNAT rule persistent across reboots.
-
Reload the firewall configuration to apply the changes:
# firewall-cmd --reload
Verification
Verify the DNAT rule for the firewall zone that you used:
# firewall-cmd --list-forward-ports --zone=public port=80:proto=tcp:toport=8080:toaddr=198.51.100.10
Alternatively, view the corresponding XML configuration file:
# cat /etc/firewalld/zones/public.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <zone> <short>Public</short> <description>For use in public areas. You do not trust the other computers on networks to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.</description> <service name="ssh"/> <service name="dhcpv6-client"/> <service name="cockpit"/> <forward-port port="80" protocol="tcp" to-port="8080" to-addr="198.51.100.10"/> <forward/> </zone>
Additional resources
- Configuring kernel parameters at runtime
-
firewall-cmd(1)
manual page
1.11.4. Redirecting traffic from a non-standard port to make the web service accessible on a standard port
You can use the redirect mechanism to make the web service that internally runs on a non-standard port accessible without requiring users to specify the port in the URL. As a result, the URLs are simpler and provide better browsing experience, while a non-standard port is still used internally or for specific requirements.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Create the
/etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-IP-forwarding.conf
file with the following content:net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
This setting enables IP forwarding in the kernel.
Load the setting from the
/etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-IP-forwarding.conf
file:# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/90-enable-IP-forwarding.conf
Create the NAT redirect rule:
# firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-forward-port=port=<standard_port>:proto=tcp:toport=<non_standard_port> --permanent
The previous command defines the NAT redirect rule with the following settings:
-
--zone=public
- The firewall zone, for which you configure the rule. You can adjust this to whatever zone you need. -
--add-forward-port=port=<non_standard_port>
- The option that indicates you are adding a port-forwarding (redirecting) rule with source port on which you initially receive the incoming traffic. -
proto=tcp
- The protocol indicating that you redirect TCP traffic. -
toport=<standard_port>
- The destination port, to which the incoming traffic should be redirected after being received on the source port. -
--permanent
- The option that makes the rule persist across reboots.
-
Reload the firewall configuration to apply the changes:
# firewall-cmd --reload
Verification
Verify the redirect rule for the firewall zone that you used:
# firewall-cmd --list-forward-ports port=8080:proto=tcp:toport=80:toaddr=
Alternatively, view the corresponding XML configuration file:
# cat /etc/firewalld/zones/public.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <zone> <short>Public</short> <description>For use in public areas. You do not trust the other computers on networks to not harm your computer. Only selected incoming connections are accepted.</description> <service name="ssh"/> <service name="dhcpv6-client"/> <service name="cockpit"/> <forward-port port="8080" protocol="tcp" to-port="80"/> <forward/> </zone>
Additional resources
- Configuring kernel parameters at runtime
-
firewall-cmd(1)
manual page
1.12. Managing ICMP requests
The Internet Control Message Protocol
(ICMP
) is a supporting protocol that is used by various network devices for testing, troubleshooting, and diagnostics. ICMP
differs from transport protocols such as TCP and UDP because it is not used to exchange data between systems.
You can use the ICMP
messages, especially echo-request
and echo-reply
, to reveal information about a network and misuse such information for various kinds of fraudulent activities. Therefore, firewalld
enables controlling the ICMP
requests to protect your network information.
1.12.1. Configuring ICMP filtering
You can use ICMP filtering to define which ICMP types and codes you want the firewall to permit or deny from reaching your system. ICMP types and codes are specific categories and subcategories of ICMP messages.
ICMP filtering helps, for example, in the following areas:
- Security enhancement - Block potentially harmful ICMP types and codes to reduce your attack surface.
- Network performance - Permit only necessary ICMP types to optimize network performance and prevent potential network congestion caused by excessive ICMP traffic.
- Troubleshooting control - Maintain essential ICMP functionality for network troubleshooting and block ICMP types that represent potential security risk.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
List available ICMP types and codes:
# firewall-cmd --get-icmptypes address-unreachable bad-header beyond-scope communication-prohibited destination-unreachable echo-reply echo-request failed-policy fragmentation-needed host-precedence-violation host-prohibited host-redirect host-unknown host-unreachable ...
From this predefined list, select which ICMP types and codes to allow or block.
Filter specific ICMP types by:
Allowing ICMP types:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<target-zone> --remove-icmp-block=echo-request --permanent
The command removes any existing blocking rules for the echo requests ICMP type.
Blocking ICMP types:
# firewall-cmd --zone=<target-zone> --add-icmp-block=redirect --permanent
The command ensures that the redirect messages ICMP type is blocked by the firewall.
Reload the firewall configuration to apply the changes:
# firewall-cmd --reload
Verification
Verify your filtering rules are in effect:
# firewall-cmd --list-icmp-blocks redirect
The command output displays the ICMP types and codes that you allowed or blocked.
Additional resources
-
firewall-cmd(1)
manual page
1.13. Setting and controlling IP sets using firewalld
IP sets are a RHEL feature for grouping of IP addresses and networks into sets to achieve more flexible and efficient firewall rule management.
The IP sets are valuable in scenarios when you need to for example:
- Handle large lists of IP addresses
- Implement dynamic updates to those large lists of IP addresses
- Create custom IP-based policies to enhance network security and control
Red Hat recommends using the firewall-cmd
command to create and manage IP sets.
1.13.1. Configuring dynamic updates for allowlisting with IP sets
You can make near real-time updates to flexibly allow specific IP addresses or ranges in the IP sets even in unpredictable conditions. These updates can be triggered by various events, such as detection of security threats or changes in the network behavior. Typically, such a solution leverages automation to reduce manual effort and improve security by responding quickly to the situation.
Prerequisites
-
The
firewalld
service is running.
Procedure
Create an IP set with a meaningful name:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --new-ipset=allowlist --type=hash:ip
The new IP set called
allowlist
contains IP addresses that you want your firewall to allow.Add a dynamic update to the IP set:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --ipset=allowlist --add-entry=198.51.100.10
This configuration updates the
allowlist
IP set with a newly added IP address that is allowed to pass network traffic by your firewall.Create a firewall rule that references the previously created IP set:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-source=ipset:allowlist
Without this rule, the IP set would not have any impact on network traffic. The default firewall policy would prevail.
Reload the firewall configuration to apply the changes:
# firewall-cmd --reload
Verification
List all IP sets:
# firewall-cmd --get-ipsets allowlist
List the active rules:
# firewall-cmd --list-all public (active) target: default icmp-block-inversion: no interfaces: enp0s1 sources: ipset:allowlist services: cockpit dhcpv6-client ssh ports: protocols: ...
The
sources
section of the command-line output provides insights to what origins of traffic (hostnames, interfaces, IP sets, subnets, and others) are permitted or denied access to a particular firewall zone. In this case, the IP addresses contained in theallowlist
IP set are allowed to pass traffic through the firewall for thepublic
zone.Explore the contents of your IP set:
# cat /etc/firewalld/ipsets/allowlist.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <ipset type="hash:ip"> <entry>198.51.100.10</entry> </ipset>
Next steps
-
Use a script or a security utility to fetch your threat intelligence feeds and update
allowlist
accordingly in an automated fashion.
Additional resources
-
firewall-cmd(1)
manual page
1.14. Prioritizing rich rules
By default, rich rules are organized based on their rule action. For example, deny
rules have precedence over allow
rules. The priority
parameter in rich rules provides administrators fine-grained control over rich rules and their execution order. When using the priority
parameter, rules are sorted first by their priority values in ascending order. When more rules have the same priority
, their order is determined by the rule action, and if the action is also the same, the order may be undefined.
1.14.1. How the priority parameter organizes rules into different chains
You can set the priority
parameter in a rich rule to any number between -32768
and 32767
, and lower numerical values have higher precedence.
The firewalld
service organizes rules based on their priority value into different chains:
-
Priority lower than 0: the rule is redirected into a chain with the
_pre
suffix. -
Priority higher than 0: the rule is redirected into a chain with the
_post
suffix. -
Priority equals 0: based on the action, the rule is redirected into a chain with the
_log
,_deny
, or_allow
the action.
Inside these sub-chains, firewalld
sorts the rules based on their priority value.
1.14.2. Setting the priority of a rich rule
The following is an example of how to create a rich rule that uses the priority
parameter to log all traffic that is not allowed or denied by other rules. You can use this rule to flag unexpected traffic.
Procedure
Add a rich rule with a very low precedence to log all traffic that has not been matched by other rules:
# firewall-cmd --add-rich-rule='rule priority=32767 log prefix="UNEXPECTED: " limit value="5/m"'
The command additionally limits the number of log entries to
5
per minute.
Verification
Display the
nftables
rule that the command in the previous step created:# nft list chain inet firewalld filter_IN_public_post table inet firewalld { chain filter_IN_public_post { log prefix "UNEXPECTED: " limit rate 5/minute } }
1.15. Configuring firewall lockdown
Local applications or services are able to change the firewall configuration if they are running as root
(for example, libvirt). With this feature, the administrator can lock the firewall configuration so that either no applications or only applications that are added to the lockdown allow list are able to request firewall changes. The lockdown settings default to disabled. If enabled, the user can be sure that there are no unwanted configuration changes made to the firewall by local applications or services.
1.15.1. Configuring lockdown using CLI
You can enable or disable the lockdown feature using the command line.
Procedure
To query whether lockdown is enabled:
# firewall-cmd --query-lockdown
Manage lockdown configuration by either:
Enabling lockdown:
# firewall-cmd --lockdown-on
Disabling lockdown:
# firewall-cmd --lockdown-off
1.15.2. Overview of lockdown allowlist configuration files
The default allowlist configuration file contains the NetworkManager
context and the default context of libvirt
. The user ID 0 is also on the list.
The allowlist configuration files are stored in the /etc/firewalld/
directory.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <whitelist> <command name="/usr/bin/python3 -s /usr/bin/firewall-config"/> <selinux context="system_u:system_r:NetworkManager_t:s0"/> <selinux context="system_u:system_r:virtd_t:s0-s0:c0.c1023"/> <user id="0"/> </whitelist>
Following is an example allowlist configuration file enabling all commands for the firewall-cmd
utility, for a user called user whose user ID is 815
:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <whitelist> <command name="/usr/libexec/platform-python -s /bin/firewall-cmd*"/> <selinux context="system_u:system_r:NetworkManager_t:s0"/> <user id="815"/> <user name="user"/> </whitelist>
This example shows both user id
and user name
, but only one option is required. Python is the interpreter and is prepended to the command line.
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, all utilities are placed in the /usr/bin/
directory and the /bin/
directory is sym-linked to the /usr/bin/
directory. In other words, although the path for firewall-cmd
when entered as root
might resolve to /bin/firewall-cmd
, /usr/bin/firewall-cmd
can now be used. All new scripts should use the new location. But be aware that if scripts that run as root
are written to use the /bin/firewall-cmd
path, then that command path must be added in the allowlist in addition to the /usr/bin/firewall-cmd
path traditionally used only for non-root
users.
The *
at the end of the name attribute of a command means that all commands that start with this string match. If the *
is not there then the absolute command including arguments must match.
1.16. Enabling traffic forwarding between different interfaces or sources within a firewalld zone
Intra-zone forwarding is a firewalld
feature that enables traffic forwarding between interfaces or sources within a firewalld
zone.
1.16.1. The difference between intra-zone forwarding and zones with the default target set to ACCEPT
With intra-zone forwarding enabled, the traffic within a single firewalld
zone can flow from one interface or source to another interface or source. The zone specifies the trust level of interfaces and sources. If the trust level is the same, the traffic stays inside the same zone.
Enabling intra-zone forwarding in the default zone of firewalld
, applies only to the interfaces and sources added to the current default zone.
firewalld
uses different zones to manage incoming and outgoing traffic. Each zone has its own set of rules and behaviors. For example, the trusted
zone, allows all forwarded traffic by default.
Other zones can have different default behaviors. In standard zones, forwarded traffic is typically dropped by default when the target of the zone is set to default
.
To control how the traffic is forwarded between different interfaces or sources within a zone, make sure you understand and configure the target of the zone accordingly.
1.16.2. Using intra-zone forwarding to forward traffic between an Ethernet and Wi-Fi network
You can use intra-zone forwarding to forward traffic between interfaces and sources within the same firewalld
zone. This feature brings the following benefits:
-
Seamless connectivity between wired and wireless devices (you can forward traffic between an Ethernet network connected to
enp1s0
and a Wi-Fi network connected towlp0s20
) - Support for flexible work environments
- Shared resources that are accessible and used by multiple devices or users within a network (such as printers, databases, network-attached storage, and others)
- Efficient internal networking (such as smooth communication, reduced latency, resource accessibility, and others)
You can enable this functionality for individual firewalld
zones.
Procedure
Enable packet forwarding in the kernel:
# echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" > /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf # sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf
Ensure that interfaces between which you want to enable intra-zone forwarding are assigned only to the
internal
zone:# firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
If the interface is currently assigned to a zone other than
internal
, reassign it:# firewall-cmd --zone=internal --change-interface=interface_name --permanent
Add the
enp1s0
andwlp0s20
interfaces to theinternal
zone:# firewall-cmd --zone=internal --add-interface=enp1s0 --add-interface=wlp0s20
Enable intra-zone forwarding:
# firewall-cmd --zone=internal --add-forward
Verification
The following Verification require that the nmap-ncat
package is installed on both hosts.
-
Log in to a host that is on the same network as the
enp1s0
interface of the host on which you enabled zone forwarding. Start an echo service with
ncat
to test connectivity:# ncat -e /usr/bin/cat -l 12345
-
Log in to a host that is in the same network as the
wlp0s20
interface. Connect to the echo server running on the host that is in the same network as the
enp1s0
:# ncat <other_host> 12345
- Type something and press . Verify the text is sent back.
Additional resources
-
firewalld.zones(5)
man page
1.17. Configuring firewalld
by using the RHEL system role
You can use the firewall
RHEL system role to configure settings of the firewalld
service on multiple clients at once. This solution:
- Provides an interface with efficient input settings.
-
Keeps all intended
firewalld
parameters in one place.
After you run the firewall
role on the control node, the RHEL system role applies the firewalld
parameters to the managed node immediately and makes them persistent across reboots.
1.17.1. Introduction to the firewall
RHEL system role
RHEL system roles is a set of contents for the Ansible automation utility. This content together with the Ansible automation utility provides a consistent configuration interface to remotely manage multiple systems.
The rhel-system-roles.firewall
role from the RHEL system roles was introduced for automated configurations of the firewalld
service. The rhel-system-roles
package contains this RHEL system role, and also the reference documentation.
To apply the firewalld
parameters on one or more systems in an automated fashion, use the firewall
RHEL system role variable in a playbook. A playbook is a list of one or more plays that is written in the text-based YAML format.
You can use an inventory file to define a set of systems that you want Ansible to configure.
With the firewall
role you can configure many different firewalld
parameters, for example:
- Zones.
- The services for which packets should be allowed.
- Granting, rejection, or dropping of traffic access to ports.
- Forwarding of ports or port ranges for a zone.
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.firewall/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/firewall/
directory - Working with playbooks
- How to build your inventory
1.17.2. Resetting the firewalld
settings by using the firewall
RHEL system role
With the firewall
RHEL system role, you can reset the firewalld
settings to their default state. If you add the previous:replaced
parameter to the variable list, the RHEL system role removes all existing user-defined settings and resets firewalld
to the defaults. If you combine the previous:replaced
parameter with other settings, the firewall
role removes all existing settings before applying new ones.
Perform this procedure on the Ansible control node.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Reset firewalld example hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Reset firewalld ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.firewall vars: firewall: - previous: replaced
Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
Run this command as
root
on the managed node to check all the zones:# firewall-cmd --list-all-zones
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.firewall/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/firewall/
directory
1.17.3. Forwarding incoming traffic in firewalld
from one local port to a different local port by using the firewall
RHEL system role
With the firewall
role you can remotely configure firewalld
parameters with persisting effect on multiple managed hosts.
Perform this procedure on the Ansible control node.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure firewalld hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Forward incoming traffic on port 8080 to 443 ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.firewall vars: firewall: - { forward_port: 8080/tcp;443;, state: enabled, runtime: true, permanent: true }
Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
On the managed host, display the
firewalld
settings:# firewall-cmd --list-forward-ports
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.firewall/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/firewall/
directory
1.17.4. Managing ports in firewalld
by using the firewall
RHEL system role
You can use the firewall
RHEL system role to open or close ports in the local firewall for incoming traffic and make the new configuration persist across reboots. For example you can configure the default zone to permit incoming traffic for the HTTPS service.
Perform this procedure on the Ansible control node.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure firewalld hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Allow incoming HTTPS traffic to the local host ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.firewall vars: firewall: - port: 443/tcp service: http state: enabled runtime: true permanent: true
The
permanent: true
option makes the new settings persistent across reboots.Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
On the managed node, verify that the
443/tcp
port associated with theHTTPS
service is open:# firewall-cmd --list-ports 443/tcp
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.firewall/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/firewall/
directory
1.17.5. Configuring a firewalld
DMZ zone by using the firewall
RHEL system role
As a system administrator, you can use the firewall
RHEL system role to configure a dmz
zone on the enp1s0 interface to permit HTTPS
traffic to the zone. In this way, you enable external users to access your web servers.
Perform this procedure on the Ansible control node.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure firewalld hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Creating a DMZ with access to HTTPS port and masquerading for hosts in DMZ ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.firewall vars: firewall: - zone: dmz interface: enp1s0 service: https state: enabled runtime: true permanent: true
Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
On the managed node, view detailed information about the
dmz
zone:# firewall-cmd --zone=dmz --list-all dmz (active) target: default icmp-block-inversion: no interfaces: enp1s0 sources: services: https ssh ports: protocols: forward: no masquerade: no forward-ports: source-ports: icmp-blocks:
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.firewall/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/firewall/
directory
Chapter 2. Getting started with nftables
The nftables
framework classifies packets and it is the successor to the iptables
, ip6tables
, arptables
, ebtables
, and ipset
utilities. It offers numerous improvements in convenience, features, and performance over previous packet-filtering tools, most notably:
- Built-in lookup tables instead of linear processing
-
A single framework for both the
IPv4
andIPv6
protocols - All rules applied atomically instead of fetching, updating, and storing a complete rule set
-
Support for debugging and tracing in the rule set (
nftrace
) and monitoring trace events (in thenft
tool) - More consistent and compact syntax, no protocol-specific extensions
- A Netlink API for third-party applications
The nftables
framework uses tables to store chains. The chains contain individual rules for performing actions. The nft
utility replaces all tools from the previous packet-filtering frameworks. You can use the libnftnl
library for low-level interaction with nftables
Netlink API through the libmnl
library.
To display the effect of rule set changes, use the nft list ruleset
command. Because these utilities add tables, chains, rules, sets, and other objects to the nftables
rule set, be aware that nftables
rule-set operations, such as the nft flush ruleset
command, might affect rule sets installed using the iptables
command.
2.1. Migrating from iptables to nftables
If your firewall configuration still uses iptables
rules, you can migrate your iptables
rules to nftables
.
The ipset
and iptables-nft
packages have been deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. This includes deprecation of nft-variants
such as iptables
, ip6tables
, arptables
, and ebtables
utilities. If you are using any of these tools, for example, because you upgraded from an earlier RHEL version, Red Hat recommends migrating to the nft
command line tool provided by the nftables
package.
2.1.1. When to use firewalld, nftables, or iptables
The following is a brief overview in which scenario you should use one of the following utilities:
-
firewalld
: Use thefirewalld
utility for simple firewall use cases. The utility is easy to use and covers the typical use cases for these scenarios. -
nftables
: Use thenftables
utility to set up complex and performance-critical firewalls, such as for a whole network. -
iptables
: Theiptables
utility on Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses thenf_tables
kernel API instead of thelegacy
back end. Thenf_tables
API provides backward compatibility so that scripts that useiptables
commands still work on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For new firewall scripts, Red Hat recommends to usenftables
.
To prevent the different firewall-related services (firewalld
, nftables
, or iptables
) from influencing each other, run only one of them on a RHEL host, and disable the other services.
2.1.2. Converting iptables and ip6tables rule sets to nftables
Use the iptables-restore-translate
and ip6tables-restore-translate
utilities to translate iptables
and ip6tables
rule sets to nftables
.
Prerequisites
-
The
nftables
andiptables
packages are installed. -
The system has
iptables
andip6tables
rules configured.
Procedure
Write the
iptables
andip6tables
rules to a file:# iptables-save >/root/iptables.dump # ip6tables-save >/root/ip6tables.dump
Convert the dump files to
nftables
instructions:# iptables-restore-translate -f /root/iptables.dump > /etc/nftables/ruleset-migrated-from-iptables.nft # ip6tables-restore-translate -f /root/ip6tables.dump > /etc/nftables/ruleset-migrated-from-ip6tables.nft
-
Review and, if needed, manually update the generated
nftables
rules. To enable the
nftables
service to load the generated files, add the following to the/etc/sysconfig/nftables.conf
file:include "/etc/nftables/ruleset-migrated-from-iptables.nft" include "/etc/nftables/ruleset-migrated-from-ip6tables.nft"
Stop and disable the
iptables
service:# systemctl disable --now iptables
If you used a custom script to load the
iptables
rules, ensure that the script no longer starts automatically and reboot to flush all tables.Enable and start the
nftables
service:# systemctl enable --now nftables
Verification
Display the
nftables
rule set:# nft list ruleset
Additional resources
2.1.3. Converting single iptables and ip6tables rules to nftables
Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides the iptables-translate
and ip6tables-translate
utilities to convert an iptables
or ip6tables
rule into the equivalent one for nftables
.
Prerequisites
-
The
nftables
package is installed.
Procedure
Use the
iptables-translate
orip6tables-translate
utility instead ofiptables
orip6tables
to display the correspondingnftables
rule, for example:# iptables-translate -A INPUT -s 192.0.2.0/24 -j ACCEPT nft add rule ip filter INPUT ip saddr 192.0.2.0/24 counter accept
Note that some extensions lack translation support. In these cases, the utility prints the untranslated rule prefixed with the
#
sign, for example:# iptables-translate -A INPUT -j CHECKSUM --checksum-fill nft # -A INPUT -j CHECKSUM --checksum-fill
Additional resources
-
iptables-translate --help
2.1.4. Comparison of common iptables and nftables commands
The following is a comparison of common iptables
and nftables
commands:
Listing all rules:
iptables nftables iptables-save
nft list ruleset
Listing a certain table and chain:
iptables nftables iptables -L
nft list table ip filter
iptables -L INPUT
nft list chain ip filter INPUT
iptables -t nat -L PREROUTING
nft list chain ip nat PREROUTING
The
nft
command does not pre-create tables and chains. They exist only if a user created them manually.Listing rules generated by firewalld:
# nft list table inet firewalld # nft list table ip firewalld # nft list table ip6 firewalld
2.2. Writing and executing nftables scripts
The major benefit of using the nftables
framework is that the execution of scripts is atomic. This means that the system either applies the whole script or prevents the execution if an error occurs. This guarantees that the firewall is always in a consistent state.
Additionally, with the nftables
script environment, you can:
- Add comments
- Define variables
- Include other rule-set files
When you install the nftables
package, Red Hat Enterprise Linux automatically creates *.nft
scripts in the /etc/nftables/
directory. These scripts contain commands that create tables and empty chains for different purposes.
2.2.1. Supported nftables script formats
You can write scripts in the nftables
scripting environment in the following formats:
The same format as the
nft list ruleset
command displays the rule set:#!/usr/sbin/nft -f # Flush the rule set flush ruleset table inet example_table { chain example_chain { # Chain for incoming packets that drops all packets that # are not explicitly allowed by any rule in this chain type filter hook input priority 0; policy drop; # Accept connections to port 22 (ssh) tcp dport ssh accept } }
The same syntax as for
nft
commands:#!/usr/sbin/nft -f # Flush the rule set flush ruleset # Create a table add table inet example_table # Create a chain for incoming packets that drops all packets # that are not explicitly allowed by any rule in this chain add chain inet example_table example_chain { type filter hook input priority 0 ; policy drop ; } # Add a rule that accepts connections to port 22 (ssh) add rule inet example_table example_chain tcp dport ssh accept
2.2.2. Running nftables scripts
You can run an nftables
script either by passing it to the nft
utility or by executing the script directly.
Procedure
To run an
nftables
script by passing it to thenft
utility, enter:# nft -f /etc/nftables/<example_firewall_script>.nft
To run an
nftables
script directly:For the single time that you perform this:
Ensure that the script starts with the following shebang sequence:
#!/usr/sbin/nft -f
ImportantIf you omit the
-f
parameter, thenft
utility does not read the script and displays:Error: syntax error, unexpected newline, expecting string
.Optional: Set the owner of the script to
root
:# chown root /etc/nftables/<example_firewall_script>.nft
Make the script executable for the owner:
# chmod u+x /etc/nftables/<example_firewall_script>.nft
Run the script:
# /etc/nftables/<example_firewall_script>.nft
If no output is displayed, the system executed the script successfully.
Even if nft
executes the script successfully, incorrectly placed rules, missing parameters, or other problems in the script can cause that the firewall behaves not as expected.
Additional resources
-
chown(1)
man page -
chmod(1)
man page - Automatically loading nftables rules when the system boots
2.2.3. Using comments in nftables scripts
The nftables
scripting environment interprets everything to the right of a #
character to the end of a line as a comment.
Comments can start at the beginning of a line, or next to a command:
... # Flush the rule set flush ruleset add table inet example_table # Create a table ...
2.2.4. Using variables in nftables script
To define a variable in an nftables
script, use the define
keyword. You can store single values and anonymous sets in a variable. For more complex scenarios, use sets or verdict maps.
- Variables with a single value
The following example defines a variable named
INET_DEV
with the valueenp1s0
:define INET_DEV = enp1s0
You can use the variable in the script by entering the
$
sign followed by the variable name:... add rule inet example_table example_chain iifname $INET_DEV tcp dport ssh accept ...
- Variables that contain an anonymous set
The following example defines a variable that contains an anonymous set:
define DNS_SERVERS = { 192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2 }
You can use the variable in the script by writing the
$
sign followed by the variable name:add rule inet example_table example_chain ip daddr $DNS_SERVERS accept
NoteCurly braces have special semantics when you use them in a rule because they indicate that the variable represents a set.
Additional resources
2.2.5. Including files in nftables scripts
In the nftables
scripting environment, you can include other scripts by using the include
statement.
If you specify only a file name without an absolute or relative path, nftables
includes files from the default search path, which is set to /etc
on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Example 2.1. Including files from the default search directory
To include a file from the default search directory:
include "example.nft"
Example 2.2. Including all *.nft files from a directory
To include all files ending with *.nft
that are stored in the /etc/nftables/rulesets/
directory:
include "/etc/nftables/rulesets/*.nft"
Note that the include
statement does not match files beginning with a dot.
Additional resources
-
The
Include files
section in thenft(8)
man page
2.2.6. Automatically loading nftables rules when the system boots
The nftables
systemd service loads firewall scripts that are included in the /etc/sysconfig/nftables.conf
file.
Prerequisites
-
The
nftables
scripts are stored in the/etc/nftables/
directory.
Procedure
Edit the
/etc/sysconfig/nftables.conf
file.-
If you modified the
*.nft
scripts that were created in/etc/nftables/
with the installation of thenftables
package, uncomment theinclude
statement for these scripts. If you wrote new scripts, add
include
statements to include these scripts. For example, to load the/etc/nftables/example.nft
script when thenftables
service starts, add:include "/etc/nftables/_example_.nft"
-
If you modified the
Optional: Start the
nftables
service to load the firewall rules without rebooting the system:# systemctl start nftables
Enable the
nftables
service.# systemctl enable nftables
Additional resources
2.3. Creating and managing nftables tables, chains, and rules
You can display nftables
rule sets and manage them.
2.3.1. Basics of nftables tables
A table in nftables
is a namespace that contains a collection of chains, rules, sets, and other objects.
Each table must have an address family assigned. The address family defines the packet types that this table processes. You can set one of the following address families when you create a table:
-
ip
: Matches only IPv4 packets. This is the default if you do not specify an address family. -
ip6
: Matches only IPv6 packets. -
inet
: Matches both IPv4 and IPv6 packets. -
arp
: Matches IPv4 address resolution protocol (ARP) packets. -
bridge
: Matches packets that pass through a bridge device. -
netdev
: Matches packets from ingress.
If you want to add a table, the format to use depends on your firewall script:
In scripts in native syntax, use:
table <table_address_family> <table_name> { }
In shell scripts, use:
nft add table <table_address_family> <table_name>
2.3.2. Basics of nftables chains
Tables consist of chains which in turn are containers for rules. The following two rule types exists:
- Base chain: You can use base chains as an entry point for packets from the networking stack.
-
Regular chain: You can use regular chains as a
jump
target to better organize rules.
If you want to add a base chain to a table, the format to use depends on your firewall script:
In scripts in native syntax, use:
table <table_address_family> <table_name> { chain <chain_name> { type <type> hook <hook> priority <priority> policy <policy> ; } }
In shell scripts, use:
nft add chain <table_address_family> <table_name> <chain_name> { type <type> hook <hook> priority <priority> \; policy <policy> \; }
To avoid that the shell interprets the semicolons as the end of the command, place the
\
escape character in front of the semicolons.
Both examples create base chains. To create a regular chain, do not set any parameters in the curly brackets.
Chain types
The following are the chain types and an overview with which address families and hooks you can use them:
Type | Address families | Hooks | Description |
---|---|---|---|
| all | all | Standard chain type |
|
|
| Chains of this type perform native address translation based on connection tracking entries. Only the first packet traverses this chain type. |
|
|
| Accepted packets that traverse this chain type cause a new route lookup if relevant parts of the IP header have changed. |
Chain priorities
The priority parameter specifies the order in which packets traverse chains with the same hook value. You can set this parameter to an integer value or use a standard priority name.
The following matrix is an overview of the standard priority names and their numeric values, and with which address families and hooks you can use them:
Textual value | Numeric value | Address families | Hooks |
---|---|---|---|
|
|
| all |
|
|
| all |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| all |
|
| all | |
|
|
| all |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Chain policies
The chain policy defines whether nftables
should accept or drop packets if rules in this chain do not specify any action. You can set one of the following policies in a chain:
-
accept
(default) -
drop
2.3.3. Basics of nftables rules
Rules define actions to perform on packets that pass a chain that contains this rule. If the rule also contains matching expressions, nftables
performs the actions only if all previous expressions apply.
If you want to add a rule to a chain, the format to use depends on your firewall script:
In scripts in native syntax, use:
table <table_address_family> <table_name> { chain <chain_name> { type <type> hook <hook> priority <priority> ; policy <policy> ; <rule> } }
In shell scripts, use:
nft add rule <table_address_family> <table_name> <chain_name> <rule>
This shell command appends the new rule at the end of the chain. If you prefer to add a rule at the beginning of the chain, use the
nft insert
command instead ofnft add
.
2.3.4. Managing tables, chains, and rules using nft commands
To manage an nftables
firewall on the command line or in shell scripts, use the nft
utility.
The commands in this procedure do not represent a typical workflow and are not optimized. This procedure only demonstrates how to use nft
commands to manage tables, chains, and rules in general.
Procedure
Create a table named
nftables_svc
with theinet
address family so that the table can process both IPv4 and IPv6 packets:# nft add table inet nftables_svc
Add a base chain named
INPUT
, that processes incoming network traffic, to theinet nftables_svc
table:# nft add chain inet nftables_svc INPUT { type filter hook input priority filter \; policy accept \; }
To avoid that the shell interprets the semicolons as the end of the command, escape the semicolons using the
\
character.Add rules to the
INPUT
chain. For example, allow incoming TCP traffic on port 22 and 443, and, as the last rule of theINPUT
chain, reject other incoming traffic with an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) port unreachable message:# nft add rule inet nftables_svc INPUT tcp dport 22 accept # nft add rule inet nftables_svc INPUT tcp dport 443 accept # nft add rule inet nftables_svc INPUT reject with icmpx type port-unreachable
If you enter the
nft add rule
commands as shown,nft
adds the rules in the same order to the chain as you run the commands.Display the current rule set including handles:
# nft -a list table inet nftables_svc table inet nftables_svc { # handle 13 chain INPUT { # handle 1 type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport 22 accept # handle 2 tcp dport 443 accept # handle 3 reject # handle 4 } }
Insert a rule before the existing rule with handle 3. For example, to insert a rule that allows TCP traffic on port 636, enter:
# nft insert rule inet nftables_svc INPUT position 3 tcp dport 636 accept
Append a rule after the existing rule with handle 3. For example, to insert a rule that allows TCP traffic on port 80, enter:
# nft add rule inet nftables_svc INPUT position 3 tcp dport 80 accept
Display the rule set again with handles. Verify that the later added rules have been added to the specified positions:
# nft -a list table inet nftables_svc table inet nftables_svc { # handle 13 chain INPUT { # handle 1 type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport 22 accept # handle 2 tcp dport 636 accept # handle 5 tcp dport 443 accept # handle 3 tcp dport 80 accept # handle 6 reject # handle 4 } }
Remove the rule with handle 6:
# nft delete rule inet nftables_svc INPUT handle 6
To remove a rule, you must specify the handle.
Display the rule set, and verify that the removed rule is no longer present:
# nft -a list table inet nftables_svc table inet nftables_svc { # handle 13 chain INPUT { # handle 1 type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport 22 accept # handle 2 tcp dport 636 accept # handle 5 tcp dport 443 accept # handle 3 reject # handle 4 } }
Remove all remaining rules from the
INPUT
chain:# nft flush chain inet nftables_svc INPUT
Display the rule set, and verify that the
INPUT
chain is empty:# nft list table inet nftables_svc table inet nftables_svc { chain INPUT { type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept } }
Delete the
INPUT
chain:# nft delete chain inet nftables_svc INPUT
You can also use this command to delete chains that still contain rules.
Display the rule set, and verify that the
INPUT
chain has been deleted:# nft list table inet nftables_svc table inet nftables_svc { }
Delete the
nftables_svc
table:# nft delete table inet nftables_svc
You can also use this command to delete tables that still contain chains.
NoteTo delete the entire rule set, use the
nft flush ruleset
command instead of manually deleting all rules, chains, and tables in separate commands.
Additional resources
nft(8)
man page
2.4. Configuring NAT using nftables
With nftables
, you can configure the following network address translation (NAT) types:
- Masquerading
- Source NAT (SNAT)
- Destination NAT (DNAT)
- Redirect
You can only use real interface names in iifname
and oifname
parameters, and alternative names (altname
) are not supported.
2.4.1. NAT types
These are the different network address translation (NAT) types:
- Masquerading and source NAT (SNAT)
Use one of these NAT types to change the source IP address of packets. For example, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do not route private IP ranges, such as
10.0.0.0/8
. If you use private IP ranges in your network and users should be able to reach servers on the internet, map the source IP address of packets from these ranges to a public IP address.Masquerading and SNAT are very similar to one another. The differences are:
- Masquerading automatically uses the IP address of the outgoing interface. Therefore, use masquerading if the outgoing interface uses a dynamic IP address.
- SNAT sets the source IP address of packets to a specified IP and does not dynamically look up the IP of the outgoing interface. Therefore, SNAT is faster than masquerading. Use SNAT if the outgoing interface uses a fixed IP address.
- Destination NAT (DNAT)
- Use this NAT type to rewrite the destination address and port of incoming packets. For example, if your web server uses an IP address from a private IP range and is, therefore, not directly accessible from the internet, you can set a DNAT rule on the router to redirect incoming traffic to this server.
- Redirect
- This type is a special case of DNAT that redirects packets to the local machine depending on the chain hook. For example, if a service runs on a different port than its standard port, you can redirect incoming traffic from the standard port to this specific port.
2.4.2. Configuring masquerading using nftables
Masquerading enables a router to dynamically change the source IP of packets sent through an interface to the IP address of the interface. This means that if the interface gets a new IP assigned, nftables
automatically uses the new IP when replacing the source IP.
Replace the source IP of packets leaving the host through the ens3
interface to the IP set on ens3
.
Procedure
Create a table:
# nft add table nat
Add the
prerouting
andpostrouting
chains to the table:# nft add chain nat postrouting { type nat hook postrouting priority 100 \; }
ImportantEven if you do not add a rule to the
prerouting
chain, thenftables
framework requires this chain to match incoming packet replies.Note that you must pass the
--
option to thenft
command to prevent the shell from interpreting the negative priority value as an option of thenft
command.Add a rule to the
postrouting
chain that matches outgoing packets on theens3
interface:# nft add rule nat postrouting oifname "ens3" masquerade
2.4.3. Configuring source NAT using nftables
On a router, Source NAT (SNAT) enables you to change the IP of packets sent through an interface to a specific IP address. The router then replaces the source IP of outgoing packets.
Procedure
Create a table:
# nft add table nat
Add the
prerouting
andpostrouting
chains to the table:# nft add chain nat postrouting { type nat hook postrouting priority 100 \; }
ImportantEven if you do not add a rule to the
postrouting
chain, thenftables
framework requires this chain to match outgoing packet replies.Note that you must pass the
--
option to thenft
command to prevent the shell from interpreting the negative priority value as an option of thenft
command.Add a rule to the
postrouting
chain that replaces the source IP of outgoing packets throughens3
with192.0.2.1
:# nft add rule nat postrouting oifname "ens3" snat to 192.0.2.1
Additional resources
2.4.4. Configuring destination NAT using nftables
Destination NAT (DNAT) enables you to redirect traffic on a router to a host that is not directly accessible from the internet.
For example, with DNAT the router redirects incoming traffic sent to port 80
and 443
to a web server with the IP address 192.0.2.1
.
Procedure
Create a table:
# nft add table nat
Add the
prerouting
andpostrouting
chains to the table:# nft -- add chain nat prerouting { type nat hook prerouting priority -100 \; } # nft add chain nat postrouting { type nat hook postrouting priority 100 \; }
ImportantEven if you do not add a rule to the
postrouting
chain, thenftables
framework requires this chain to match outgoing packet replies.Note that you must pass the
--
option to thenft
command to prevent the shell from interpreting the negative priority value as an option of thenft
command.Add a rule to the
prerouting
chain that redirects incoming traffic to port80
and443
on theens3
interface of the router to the web server with the IP address192.0.2.1
:# nft add rule nat prerouting iifname ens3 tcp dport { 80, 443 } dnat to 192.0.2.1
Depending on your environment, add either a SNAT or masquerading rule to change the source address for packets returning from the web server to the sender:
If the
ens3
interface uses a dynamic IP addresses, add a masquerading rule:# nft add rule nat postrouting oifname "ens3" masquerade
If the
ens3
interface uses a static IP address, add a SNAT rule. For example, if theens3
uses the198.51.100.1
IP address:# nft add rule nat postrouting oifname "ens3" snat to 198.51.100.1
Enable packet forwarding:
# echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" > /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf # sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf
Additional resources
2.4.5. Configuring a redirect using nftables
The redirect
feature is a special case of destination network address translation (DNAT) that redirects packets to the local machine depending on the chain hook.
For example, you can redirect incoming and forwarded traffic sent to port 22
of the local host to port 2222
.
Procedure
Create a table:
# nft add table nat
Add the
prerouting
chain to the table:# nft -- add chain nat prerouting { type nat hook prerouting priority -100 \; }
Note that you must pass the
--
option to thenft
command to prevent the shell from interpreting the negative priority value as an option of thenft
command.Add a rule to the
prerouting
chain that redirects incoming traffic on port22
to port2222
:# nft add rule nat prerouting tcp dport 22 redirect to 2222
Additional resources
2.4.6. Configuring flowtable by using nftables
The nftables
utility uses the netfilter
framework to provide network address translation (NAT) for network traffic and provides the fastpath feature-based flowtable
mechanism to accelerate packet forwarding.
The flowtable mechanism has the following features:
- Uses connection tracking to bypass the classic packet forwarding path.
- Avoids revisiting the routing table by bypassing the classic packet processing.
- Works only with TCP and UDP protocols.
- Hardware independent software fast path.
Procedure
Add an
example-table
table ofinet
family:# nft add table inet <example-table>
Add an
example-flowtable
flowtable withingress
hook andfilter
as a priority type:# nft add flowtable inet <example-table> <example-flowtable> { hook ingress priority filter \; devices = { enp1s0, enp7s0 } \; }
Add an
example-forwardchain
flow to the flowtable from a packet processing table:# nft add chain inet <example-table> <example-forwardchain> { type filter hook forward priority filter \; }
This command adds a flowtable of
filter
type withforward
hook andfilter
priority.Add a rule with
established
connection tracking state to offloadexample-flowtable
flow:# nft add rule inet <example-table> <example-forwardchain> ct state established flow add @<example-flowtable>
Verification
Verify the properties of
example-table
:# nft list table inet <example-table> table inet example-table { flowtable example-flowtable { hook ingress priority filter devices = { enp1s0, enp7s0 } } chain example-forwardchain { type filter hook forward priority filter; policy accept; ct state established flow add @example-flowtable } }
Additional resources
-
nft(8)
man page
2.5. Using sets in nftables commands
The nftables
framework natively supports sets. You can use sets, for example, if a rule should match multiple IP addresses, port numbers, interfaces, or any other match criteria.
2.5.1. Using anonymous sets in nftables
An anonymous set contains comma-separated values enclosed in curly brackets, such as { 22, 80, 443 }
, that you use directly in a rule. You can use anonymous sets also for IP addresses and any other match criteria.
The drawback of anonymous sets is that if you want to change the set, you must replace the rule. For a dynamic solution, use named sets as described in Using named sets in nftables.
Prerequisites
-
The
example_chain
chain and theexample_table
table in theinet
family exists.
Procedure
For example, to add a rule to
example_chain
inexample_table
that allows incoming traffic to port22
,80
, and443
:# nft add rule inet example_table example_chain tcp dport { 22, 80, 443 } accept
Optional: Display all chains and their rules in
example_table
:# nft list table inet example_table table inet example_table { chain example_chain { type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport { ssh, http, https } accept } }
2.5.2. Using named sets in nftables
The nftables
framework supports mutable named sets. A named set is a list or range of elements that you can use in multiple rules within a table. Another benefit over anonymous sets is that you can update a named set without replacing the rules that use the set.
When you create a named set, you must specify the type of elements the set contains. You can set the following types:
-
ipv4_addr
for a set that contains IPv4 addresses or ranges, such as192.0.2.1
or192.0.2.0/24
. -
ipv6_addr
for a set that contains IPv6 addresses or ranges, such as2001:db8:1::1
or2001:db8:1::1/64
. -
ether_addr
for a set that contains a list of media access control (MAC) addresses, such as52:54:00:6b:66:42
. -
inet_proto
for a set that contains a list of internet protocol types, such astcp
. -
inet_service
for a set that contains a list of internet services, such asssh
. -
mark
for a set that contains a list of packet marks. Packet marks can be any positive 32-bit integer value (0
to2147483647
).
Prerequisites
-
The
example_chain
chain and theexample_table
table exists.
Procedure
Create an empty set. The following examples create a set for IPv4 addresses:
To create a set that can store multiple individual IPv4 addresses:
# nft add set inet example_table example_set { type ipv4_addr \; }
To create a set that can store IPv4 address ranges:
# nft add set inet example_table example_set { type ipv4_addr \; flags interval \; }
ImportantTo prevent the shell from interpreting the semicolons as the end of the command, you must escape the semicolons with a backslash.
Optional: Create rules that use the set. For example, the following command adds a rule to the
example_chain
in theexample_table
that will drop all packets from IPv4 addresses inexample_set
.# nft add rule inet example_table example_chain ip saddr @example_set drop
Because
example_set
is still empty, the rule has currently no effect.Add IPv4 addresses to
example_set
:If you create a set that stores individual IPv4 addresses, enter:
# nft add element inet example_table example_set { 192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2 }
If you create a set that stores IPv4 ranges, enter:
# nft add element inet example_table example_set { 192.0.2.0-192.0.2.255 }
When you specify an IP address range, you can alternatively use the Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation, such as
192.0.2.0/24
in the above example.
2.5.3. Additional resources
-
The
Sets
section in thenft(8)
man page
2.6. Using verdict maps in nftables commands
Verdict maps, which are also known as dictionaries, enable nft
to perform an action based on packet information by mapping match criteria to an action.
2.6.1. Using anonymous maps in nftables
An anonymous map is a { match_criteria : action }
statement that you use directly in a rule. The statement can contain multiple comma-separated mappings.
The drawback of an anonymous map is that if you want to change the map, you must replace the rule. For a dynamic solution, use named maps as described in Using named maps in nftables.
For example, you can use an anonymous map to route both TCP and UDP packets of the IPv4 and IPv6 protocol to different chains to count incoming TCP and UDP packets separately.
Procedure
Create a new table:
# nft add table inet example_table
Create the
tcp_packets
chain inexample_table
:# nft add chain inet example_table tcp_packets
Add a rule to
tcp_packets
that counts the traffic in this chain:# nft add rule inet example_table tcp_packets counter
Create the
udp_packets
chain inexample_table
# nft add chain inet example_table udp_packets
Add a rule to
udp_packets
that counts the traffic in this chain:# nft add rule inet example_table udp_packets counter
Create a chain for incoming traffic. For example, to create a chain named
incoming_traffic
inexample_table
that filters incoming traffic:# nft add chain inet example_table incoming_traffic { type filter hook input priority 0 \; }
Add a rule with an anonymous map to
incoming_traffic
:# nft add rule inet example_table incoming_traffic ip protocol vmap { tcp : jump tcp_packets, udp : jump udp_packets }
The anonymous map distinguishes the packets and sends them to the different counter chains based on their protocol.
To list the traffic counters, display
example_table
:# nft list table inet example_table table inet example_table { chain tcp_packets { counter packets 36379 bytes 2103816 } chain udp_packets { counter packets 10 bytes 1559 } chain incoming_traffic { type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; ip protocol vmap { tcp : jump tcp_packets, udp : jump udp_packets } } }
The counters in the
tcp_packets
andudp_packets
chain display both the number of received packets and bytes.
2.6.2. Using named maps in nftables
The nftables
framework supports named maps. You can use these maps in multiple rules within a table. Another benefit over anonymous maps is that you can update a named map without replacing the rules that use it.
When you create a named map, you must specify the type of elements:
-
ipv4_addr
for a map whose match part contains an IPv4 address, such as192.0.2.1
. -
ipv6_addr
for a map whose match part contains an IPv6 address, such as2001:db8:1::1
. -
ether_addr
for a map whose match part contains a media access control (MAC) address, such as52:54:00:6b:66:42
. -
inet_proto
for a map whose match part contains an internet protocol type, such astcp
. -
inet_service
for a map whose match part contains an internet services name port number, such asssh
or22
. -
mark
for a map whose match part contains a packet mark. A packet mark can be any positive 32-bit integer value (0
to2147483647
). -
counter
for a map whose match part contains a counter value. The counter value can be any positive 64-bit integer value. -
quota
for a map whose match part contains a quota value. The quota value can be any positive 64-bit integer value.
For example, you can allow or drop incoming packets based on their source IP address. Using a named map, you require only a single rule to configure this scenario while the IP addresses and actions are dynamically stored in the map.
Procedure
Create a table. For example, to create a table named
example_table
that processes IPv4 packets:# nft add table ip example_table
Create a chain. For example, to create a chain named
example_chain
inexample_table
:# nft add chain ip example_table example_chain { type filter hook input priority 0 \; }
ImportantTo prevent the shell from interpreting the semicolons as the end of the command, you must escape the semicolons with a backslash.
Create an empty map. For example, to create a map for IPv4 addresses:
# nft add map ip example_table example_map { type ipv4_addr : verdict \; }
Create rules that use the map. For example, the following command adds a rule to
example_chain
inexample_table
that applies actions to IPv4 addresses which are both defined inexample_map
:# nft add rule example_table example_chain ip saddr vmap @example_map
Add IPv4 addresses and corresponding actions to
example_map
:# nft add element ip example_table example_map { 192.0.2.1 : accept, 192.0.2.2 : drop }
This example defines the mappings of IPv4 addresses to actions. In combination with the rule created above, the firewall accepts packet from
192.0.2.1
and drops packets from192.0.2.2
.Optional: Enhance the map by adding another IP address and action statement:
# nft add element ip example_table example_map { 192.0.2.3 : accept }
Optional: Remove an entry from the map:
# nft delete element ip example_table example_map { 192.0.2.1 }
Optional: Display the rule set:
# nft list ruleset table ip example_table { map example_map { type ipv4_addr : verdict elements = { 192.0.2.2 : drop, 192.0.2.3 : accept } } chain example_chain { type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; ip saddr vmap @example_map } }
2.6.3. Additional resources
-
The
Maps
section in thenft(8)
man page
2.7. Example: Protecting a LAN and DMZ using an nftables script
Use the nftables
framework on a RHEL router to write and install a firewall script that protects the network clients in an internal LAN and a web server in a DMZ from unauthorized access from the internet and from other networks.
This example is only for demonstration purposes and describes a scenario with specific requirements.
Firewall scripts highly depend on the network infrastructure and security requirements. Use this example to learn the concepts of nftables
firewalls when you write scripts for your own environment.
2.7.1. Network conditions
The network in this example has the following conditions:
The router is connected to the following networks:
-
The internet through interface
enp1s0
-
The internal LAN through interface
enp7s0
-
The DMZ through
enp8s0
-
The internet through interface
-
The internet interface of the router has both a static IPv4 address (
203.0.113.1
) and IPv6 address (2001:db8:a::1
) assigned. -
The clients in the internal LAN use only private IPv4 addresses from the range
10.0.0.0/24
. Consequently, traffic from the LAN to the internet requires source network address translation (SNAT). -
The administrator PCs in the internal LAN use the IP addresses
10.0.0.100
and10.0.0.200
. -
The DMZ uses public IP addresses from the ranges
198.51.100.0/24
and2001:db8:b::/56
. -
The web server in the DMZ uses the IP addresses
198.51.100.5
and2001:db8:b::5
. - The router acts as a caching DNS server for hosts in the LAN and DMZ.
2.7.2. Security requirements to the firewall script
The following are the requirements to the nftables
firewall in the example network:
The router must be able to:
- Recursively resolve DNS queries.
- Perform all connections on the loopback interface.
Clients in the internal LAN must be able to:
- Query the caching DNS server running on the router.
- Access the HTTPS server in the DMZ.
- Access any HTTPS server on the internet.
- The PCs of the administrators must be able to access the router and every server in the DMZ using SSH.
The web server in the DMZ must be able to:
- Query the caching DNS server running on the router.
- Access HTTPS servers on the internet to download updates.
Hosts on the internet must be able to:
- Access the HTTPS servers in the DMZ.
Additionally, the following security requirements exists:
- Connection attempts that are not explicitly allowed should be dropped.
- Dropped packets should be logged.
2.7.3. Configuring logging of dropped packets to a file
By default, systemd
logs kernel messages, such as for dropped packets, to the journal. Additionally, you can configure the rsyslog
service to log such entries to a separate file. To ensure that the log file does not grow infinitely, configure a rotation policy.
Prerequisites
-
The
rsyslog
package is installed. -
The
rsyslog
service is running.
Procedure
Create the
/etc/rsyslog.d/nftables.conf
file with the following content::msg, startswith, "nft drop" -/var/log/nftables.log & stop
Using this configuration, the
rsyslog
service logs dropped packets to the/var/log/nftables.log
file instead of/var/log/messages
.Restart the
rsyslog
service:# systemctl restart rsyslog
Create the
/etc/logrotate.d/nftables
file with the following content to rotate/var/log/nftables.log
if the size exceeds 10 MB:/var/log/nftables.log { size +10M maxage 30 sharedscripts postrotate /usr/bin/systemctl kill -s HUP rsyslog.service >/dev/null 2>&1 || true endscript }
The
maxage 30
setting defines thatlogrotate
removes rotated logs older than 30 days during the next rotation operation.
Additional resources
-
rsyslog.conf(5)
man page -
logrotate(8)
man page
2.7.4. Writing and activating the nftables script
This example is an nftables
firewall script that runs on a RHEL router and protects the clients in an internal LAN and a web server in a DMZ. For details about the network and the requirements for the firewall used in the example, see Network conditions and Security requirements to the firewall script.
This nftables
firewall script is only for demonstration purposes. Do not use it without adapting it to your environments and security requirements.
Prerequisites
- The network is configured as described in Network conditions.
Procedure
Create the
/etc/nftables/firewall.nft
script with the following content:# Remove all rules flush ruleset # Table for both IPv4 and IPv6 rules table inet nftables_svc { # Define variables for the interface name define INET_DEV = enp1s0 define LAN_DEV = enp7s0 define DMZ_DEV = enp8s0 # Set with the IPv4 addresses of admin PCs set admin_pc_ipv4 { type ipv4_addr elements = { 10.0.0.100, 10.0.0.200 } } # Chain for incoming trafic. Default policy: drop chain INPUT { type filter hook input priority filter policy drop # Accept packets in established and related state, drop invalid packets ct state vmap { established:accept, related:accept, invalid:drop } # Accept incoming traffic on loopback interface iifname lo accept # Allow request from LAN and DMZ to local DNS server iifname { $LAN_DEV, $DMZ_DEV } meta l4proto { tcp, udp } th dport 53 accept # Allow admins PCs to access the router using SSH iifname $LAN_DEV ip saddr @admin_pc_ipv4 tcp dport 22 accept # Last action: Log blocked packets # (packets that were not accepted in previous rules in this chain) log prefix "nft drop IN : " } # Chain for outgoing traffic. Default policy: drop chain OUTPUT { type filter hook output priority filter policy drop # Accept packets in established and related state, drop invalid packets ct state vmap { established:accept, related:accept, invalid:drop } # Accept outgoing traffic on loopback interface oifname lo accept # Allow local DNS server to recursively resolve queries oifname $INET_DEV meta l4proto { tcp, udp } th dport 53 accept # Last action: Log blocked packets log prefix "nft drop OUT: " } # Chain for forwarding traffic. Default policy: drop chain FORWARD { type filter hook forward priority filter policy drop # Accept packets in established and related state, drop invalid packets ct state vmap { established:accept, related:accept, invalid:drop } # IPv4 access from LAN and internet to the HTTPS server in the DMZ iifname { $LAN_DEV, $INET_DEV } oifname $DMZ_DEV ip daddr 198.51.100.5 tcp dport 443 accept # IPv6 access from internet to the HTTPS server in the DMZ iifname $INET_DEV oifname $DMZ_DEV ip6 daddr 2001:db8:b::5 tcp dport 443 accept # Access from LAN and DMZ to HTTPS servers on the internet iifname { $LAN_DEV, $DMZ_DEV } oifname $INET_DEV tcp dport 443 accept # Last action: Log blocked packets log prefix "nft drop FWD: " } # Postrouting chain to handle SNAT chain postrouting { type nat hook postrouting priority srcnat; policy accept; # SNAT for IPv4 traffic from LAN to internet iifname $LAN_DEV oifname $INET_DEV snat ip to 203.0.113.1 } }
Include the
/etc/nftables/firewall.nft
script in the/etc/sysconfig/nftables.conf
file:include "/etc/nftables/firewall.nft"
Enable IPv4 forwarding:
# echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" > /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf # sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf
Enable and start the
nftables
service:# systemctl enable --now nftables
Verification
Optional: Verify the
nftables
rule set:# nft list ruleset ...
Try to perform an access that the firewall prevents. For example, try to access the router using SSH from the DMZ:
# ssh router.example.com ssh: connect to host router.example.com port 22: Network is unreachable
Depending on your logging settings, search:
The
systemd
journal for the blocked packets:# journalctl -k -g "nft drop" Oct 14 17:27:18 router kernel: nft drop IN : IN=enp8s0 OUT= MAC=... SRC=198.51.100.5 DST=198.51.100.1 ... PROTO=TCP SPT=40464 DPT=22 ... SYN ...
The
/var/log/nftables.log
file for the blocked packets:Oct 14 17:27:18 router kernel: nft drop IN : IN=enp8s0 OUT= MAC=... SRC=198.51.100.5 DST=198.51.100.1 ... PROTO=TCP SPT=40464 DPT=22 ... SYN ...
2.8. Configuring port forwarding using nftables
Port forwarding enables administrators to forward packets sent to a specific destination port to a different local or remote port.
For example, if your web server does not have a public IP address, you can set a port forwarding rule on your firewall that forwards incoming packets on port 80
and 443
on the firewall to the web server. With this firewall rule, users on the internet can access the web server using the IP or host name of the firewall.
2.8.1. Forwarding incoming packets to a different local port
You can use nftables
to forward packets. For example, you can forward incoming IPv4 packets on port 8022
to port 22
on the local system.
Procedure
Create a table named
nat
with theip
address family:# nft add table ip nat
Add the
prerouting
andpostrouting
chains to the table:# nft -- add chain ip nat prerouting { type nat hook prerouting priority -100 \; }
NotePass the
--
option to thenft
command to prevent the shell from interpreting the negative priority value as an option of thenft
command.Add a rule to the
prerouting
chain that redirects incoming packets on port8022
to the local port22
:# nft add rule ip nat prerouting tcp dport 8022 redirect to :22
2.8.2. Forwarding incoming packets on a specific local port to a different host
You can use a destination network address translation (DNAT) rule to forward incoming packets on a local port to a remote host. This enables users on the internet to access a service that runs on a host with a private IP address.
For example, you can forward incoming IPv4 packets on the local port 443
to the same port number on the remote system with the 192.0.2.1
IP address.
Prerequisites
-
You are logged in as the
root
user on the system that should forward the packets.
Procedure
Create a table named
nat
with theip
address family:# nft add table ip nat
Add the
prerouting
andpostrouting
chains to the table:# nft -- add chain ip nat prerouting { type nat hook prerouting priority -100 \; } # nft add chain ip nat postrouting { type nat hook postrouting priority 100 \; }
NotePass the
--
option to thenft
command to prevent the shell from interpreting the negative priority value as an option of thenft
command.Add a rule to the
prerouting
chain that redirects incoming packets on port443
to the same port on192.0.2.1
:# nft add rule ip nat prerouting tcp dport 443 dnat to 192.0.2.1
Add a rule to the
postrouting
chain to masquerade outgoing traffic:# nft add rule ip nat postrouting daddr 192.0.2.1 masquerade
Enable packet forwarding:
# echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" > /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf # sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/95-IPv4-forwarding.conf
2.9. Using nftables to limit the amount of connections
You can use nftables
to limit the number of connections or to block IP addresses that attempt to establish a given amount of connections to prevent them from using too many system resources.
2.9.1. Limiting the number of connections by using nftables
By using the ct count
parameter of the nft
utility, you can limit the number of simultaneous connections per IP address. For example, you can use this feature to configure that each source IP address can only establish two parallel SSH connections to a host.
Procedure
Create the
filter
table with theinet
address family:# nft add table inet filter
Add the
input
chain to theinet filter
table:# nft add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 \; }
Create a dynamic set for IPv4 addresses:
# nft add set inet filter limit-ssh { type ipv4_addr\; flags dynamic \;}
Add a rule to the
input
chain that allows only two simultaneous incoming connections to the SSH port (22) from an IPv4 address and rejects all further connections from the same IP:# nft add rule inet filter input tcp dport ssh ct state new add @limit-ssh { ip saddr ct count over 2 } counter reject
Verification
- Establish more than two new simultaneous SSH connections from the same IP address to the host. Nftables refuses connections to the SSH port if two connections are already established.
Display the
limit-ssh
meter:# nft list set inet filter limit-ssh table inet filter { set limit-ssh { type ipv4_addr size 65535 flags dynamic elements = { 192.0.2.1 ct count over 2 , 192.0.2.2 ct count over 2 } } }
The
elements
entry displays addresses that currently match the rule. In this example,elements
lists IP addresses that have active connections to the SSH port. Note that the output does not display the number of active connections or if connections were rejected.
2.9.2. Blocking IP addresses that attempt more than ten new incoming TCP connections within one minute
You can temporarily block hosts that are establishing more than ten IPv4 TCP connections within one minute.
Procedure
Create the
filter
table with theip
address family:# nft add table ip filter
Add the
input
chain to thefilter
table:# nft add chain ip filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 \; }
Add a set named
denylist
to thefilter
table:# nft add set ip filter denylist { type ipv4_addr \; flags dynamic, timeout \; timeout 5m \; }
This command creates a dynamic set for IPv4 addresses. The
timeout 5m
parameter defines thatnftables
automatically removes entries after five minutes to prevent that the set fills up with stale entries.Add a rule that automatically adds the source IP address of hosts that attempt to establish more than ten new TCP connections within one minute to the
denylist
set:# nft add rule ip filter input ip protocol tcp ct state new, untracked add @denylist { ip saddr limit rate over 10/minute } drop
Additional resources
2.10. Debugging nftables rules
The nftables
framework provides different options for administrators to debug rules and if packets match them.
2.10.1. Creating a rule with a counter
To identify if a rule is matched, you can use a counter.
- For more information about a procedure that adds a counter to an existing rule, see Adding a counter to an existing rule.
Prerequisites
- The chain to which you want to add the rule exists.
Procedure
Add a new rule with the
counter
parameter to the chain. The following example adds a rule with a counter that allows TCP traffic on port 22 and counts the packets and traffic that match this rule:# nft add rule inet example_table example_chain tcp dport 22 counter accept
To display the counter values:
# nft list ruleset table inet example_table { chain example_chain { type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport ssh counter packets 6872 bytes 105448565 accept } }
2.10.2. Adding a counter to an existing rule
To identify if a rule is matched, you can use a counter.
- For more information about a procedure that adds a new rule with a counter, see Creating a rule with the counter.
Prerequisites
- The rule to which you want to add the counter exists.
Procedure
Display the rules in the chain including their handles:
# nft --handle list chain inet example_table example_chain table inet example_table { chain example_chain { # handle 1 type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport ssh accept # handle 4 } }
Add the counter by replacing the rule but with the
counter
parameter. The following example replaces the rule displayed in the previous step and adds a counter:# nft replace rule inet example_table example_chain handle 4 tcp dport 22 counter accept
To display the counter values:
# nft list ruleset table inet example_table { chain example_chain { type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport ssh counter packets 6872 bytes 105448565 accept } }
2.10.3. Monitoring packets that match an existing rule
The tracing feature in nftables
in combination with the nft monitor
command enables administrators to display packets that match a rule. You can enable tracing for a rule an use it to monitoring packets that match this rule.
Prerequisites
- The rule to which you want to add the counter exists.
Procedure
Display the rules in the chain including their handles:
# nft --handle list chain inet example_table example_chain table inet example_table { chain example_chain { # handle 1 type filter hook input priority filter; policy accept; tcp dport ssh accept # handle 4 } }
Add the tracing feature by replacing the rule but with the
meta nftrace set 1
parameters. The following example replaces the rule displayed in the previous step and enables tracing:# nft replace rule inet example_table example_chain handle 4 tcp dport 22 meta nftrace set 1 accept
Use the
nft monitor
command to display the tracing. The following example filters the output of the command to display only entries that containinet example_table example_chain
:# nft monitor | grep "inet example_table example_chain" trace id 3c5eb15e inet example_table example_chain packet: iif "enp1s0" ether saddr 52:54:00:17:ff:e4 ether daddr 52:54:00:72:2f:6e ip saddr 192.0.2.1 ip daddr 192.0.2.2 ip dscp cs0 ip ecn not-ect ip ttl 64 ip id 49710 ip protocol tcp ip length 60 tcp sport 56728 tcp dport ssh tcp flags == syn tcp window 64240 trace id 3c5eb15e inet example_table example_chain rule tcp dport ssh nftrace set 1 accept (verdict accept) ...
WarningDepending on the number of rules with tracing enabled and the amount of matching traffic, the
nft monitor
command can display a lot of output. Usegrep
or other utilities to filter the output.
2.11. Backing up and restoring the nftables rule set
You can backup nftables
rules to a file and later restoring them. Also, administrators can use a file with the rules to, for example, transfer the rules to a different server.
2.11.1. Backing up the nftables rule set to a file
You can use the nft
utility to back up the nftables
rule set to a file.
Procedure
To backup
nftables
rules:In a format produced by
nft list ruleset
format:# nft list ruleset > file.nft
In JSON format:
# nft -j list ruleset > file.json
2.11.2. Restoring the nftables rule set from a file
You can restore the nftables
rule set from a file.
Procedure
To restore
nftables
rules:If the file to restore is in the format produced by
nft list ruleset
or containsnft
commands directly:# nft -f file.nft
If the file to restore is in JSON format:
# nft -j -f file.json
2.12. Additional resources
Chapter 3. Using xdp-filter for high-performance traffic filtering to prevent DDoS attacks
Compared to packet filters, such as nftables
, Express Data Path (XDP) processes and drops network packets right at the network interface. Therefore, XDP determines the next step for the package before it reaches a firewall or other applications. As a result, XDP filters require less resources and can process network packets at a much higher rate than conventional packet filters to defend against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. For example, during testing, Red Hat dropped 26 million network packets per second on a single core, which is significantly higher than the drop rate of nftables
on the same hardware.
The xdp-filter
utility allows or drops incoming network packets using XDP. You can create rules to filter traffic to or from specific:
- IP addresses
- MAC addresses
- Ports
Note that, even if xdp-filter
has a significantly higher packet-processing rate, it does not have the same capabilities as, for example, nftables
. Consider xdp-filter
a conceptual utility to demonstrate packet filtering using XDP. Additionally, you can use the code of the utility for a better understanding of how to write your own XDP applications.
On other architectures than AMD and Intel 64-bit, the xdp-filter
utility is provided as a Technology Preview only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production Service Level Agreements (SLAs), might not be functionally complete, and Red Hat does not recommend using them for production. These previews provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.
See Technology Preview Features Support Scope on the Red Hat Customer Portal for information about the support scope for Technology Preview features.
3.1. Dropping network packets that match an xdp-filter rule
You can use xdp-filter
to drop network packets:
- To a specific destination port
- From a specific IP address
- From a specific MAC address
The allow
policy of xdp-filter
defines that all traffic is allowed and the filter drops only network packets that match a particular rule. For example, use this method if you know the source IP addresses of packets you want to drop.
Prerequisites
-
The
xdp-tools
package is installed. - A network driver that supports XDP programs.
Procedure
Load
xdp-filter
to process incoming packets on a certain interface, such asenp1s0
:# xdp-filter load enp1s0
By default,
xdp-filter
uses theallow
policy, and the utility drops only traffic that matches any rule.Optionally, use the
-f feature
option to enable only particular features, such astcp
,ipv4
, orethernet
. Loading only the required features instead of all of them increases the speed of packet processing. To enable multiple features, separate them with a comma.If the command fails with an error, the network driver does not support XDP programs.
Add rules to drop packets that match them. For example:
To drop incoming packets to port
22
, enter:# xdp-filter port 22
This command adds a rule that matches TCP and UDP traffic. To match only a particular protocol, use the
-p protocol
option.To drop incoming packets from
192.0.2.1
, enter:# xdp-filter ip 192.0.2.1 -m src
Note that
xdp-filter
does not support IP ranges.To drop incoming packets from MAC address
00:53:00:AA:07:BE
, enter:# xdp-filter ether 00:53:00:AA:07:BE -m src
Verification
Use the following command to display statistics about dropped and allowed packets:
# xdp-filter status
Additional resources
-
xdp-filter(8)
man page -
If you are a developer and interested in the code of
xdp-filter
, download and install the corresponding source RPM (SRPM) from the Red Hat Customer Portal.
3.2. Dropping all network packets except the ones that match an xdp-filter rule
You can use xdp-filter
to allow only network packets:
- From and to a specific destination port
- From and to a specific IP address
- From and to specific MAC address
To do so, use the deny
policy of xdp-filter
which defines that the filter drops all network packets except the ones that match a particular rule. For example, use this method if you do not know the source IP addresses of packets you want to drop.
If you set the default policy to deny
when you load xdp-filter
on an interface, the kernel immediately drops all packets from this interface until you create rules that allow certain traffic. To avoid being locked out from the system, enter the commands locally or connect through a different network interface to the host.
Prerequisites
-
The
xdp-tools
package is installed. - You are logged in to the host either locally or using a network interface for which you do not plan to filter the traffic.
- A network driver that supports XDP programs.
Procedure
Load
xdp-filter
to process packets on a certain interface, such asenp1s0
:# xdp-filter load enp1s0 -p deny
Optionally, use the
-f feature
option to enable only particular features, such astcp
,ipv4
, orethernet
. Loading only the required features instead of all of them increases the speed of packet processing. To enable multiple features, separate them with a comma.If the command fails with an error, the network driver does not support XDP programs.
Add rules to allow packets that match them. For example:
To allow packets to port
22
, enter:# xdp-filter port 22
This command adds a rule that matches TCP and UDP traffic. To match only a particular protocol, pass the
-p protocol
option to the command.To allow packets to
192.0.2.1
, enter:# xdp-filter ip 192.0.2.1
Note that
xdp-filter
does not support IP ranges.To allow packets to MAC address
00:53:00:AA:07:BE
, enter:# xdp-filter ether 00:53:00:AA:07:BE
ImportantThe
xdp-filter
utility does not support stateful packet inspection. This requires that you either do not set a mode using the-m mode
option or you add explicit rules to allow incoming traffic that the machine receives in reply to outgoing traffic.
Verification
Use the following command to display statistics about dropped and allowed packets:
# xdp-filter status
Additional resources
-
xdp-filter(8)
man page. -
If you are a developer and you are interested in the code of
xdp-filter
, download and install the corresponding source RPM (SRPM) from the Red Hat Customer Portal.