For RHEL 8 systems using Domain Name Servers (DNS) resolution, at least two name servers must be configured.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-230316	SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227	RHEL-08-010680	SV-230316r1044801_rule	2025-03-26	2

Description
To provide availability for name resolution services, multiple redundant name servers are mandated. A failure in name resolution could lead to the failure of security functions requiring name resolution, which may include time synchronization, centralized authentication, and remote system logging.

ℹ️ Check
Note: If the system is running in a cloud platform and the cloud provider gives a single, highly available IP address for DNS configuration, this is not applicable. Determine whether the system is using local or DNS name resolution with the following command: $ sudo grep hosts /etc/nsswitch.conf hosts: files dns If the DNS entry is missing from the host's line in the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file, the "/etc/resolv.conf" file must be empty. Verify the "/etc/resolv.conf" file is empty with the following command: $ sudo ls -al /etc/resolv.conf -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Aug 19 08:31 resolv.conf If local host authentication is being used and the "/etc/resolv.conf" file is not empty, this is a finding. If the DNS entry is found on the host's line of the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file, verify the operating system is configured to use two or more name servers for DNS resolution. Determine the name servers used by the system with the following command: $ sudo grep nameserver /etc/resolv.conf nameserver 192.168.1.2 nameserver 192.168.1.3 If fewer than two lines are returned that are not commented out, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Note: If the system is running in a cloud platform and the cloud provider gives a single, highly available IP address for DNS configuration, this is not applicable. Determine whether the system is using local or DNS name resolution with the following command: $ sudo grep hosts /etc/nsswitch.conf hosts: files dns If the DNS entry is missing from the host's line in the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file, the "/etc/resolv.conf" file must be empty. Verify the "/etc/resolv.conf" file is empty with the following command: $ sudo ls -al /etc/resolv.conf -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Aug 19 08:31 resolv.conf If local host authentication is being used and the "/etc/resolv.conf" file is not empty, this is a finding. If the DNS entry is found on the host's line of the "/etc/nsswitch.conf" file, verify the operating system is configured to use two or more name servers for DNS resolution. Determine the name servers used by the system with the following command: $ sudo grep nameserver /etc/resolv.conf nameserver 192.168.1.2 nameserver 192.168.1.3 If fewer than two lines are returned that are not commented out, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Configure the operating system to use two or more name servers for DNS resolution. By default, "NetworkManager" on RHEL 8 dynamically updates the /etc/resolv.conf file with the DNS settings from active "NetworkManager" connection profiles. However, this feature can be disabled to allow manual configurations. If manually configuring DNS, edit the "/etc/resolv.conf" file to uncomment or add the two or more "nameserver" option lines with the IP address of local authoritative name servers. If local host resolution is being performed, the "/etc/resolv.conf" file must be empty. An empty "/etc/resolv.conf" file can be created as follows: $ sudo echo -n > /etc/resolv.conf

✔️ Fix

Configure the operating system to use two or more name servers for DNS resolution. By default, "NetworkManager" on RHEL 8 dynamically updates the /etc/resolv.conf file with the DNS settings from active "NetworkManager" connection profiles. However, this feature can be disabled to allow manual configurations. If manually configuring DNS, edit the "/etc/resolv.conf" file to uncomment or add the two or more "nameserver" option lines with the IP address of local authoritative name servers. If local host resolution is being performed, the "/etc/resolv.conf" file must be empty. An empty "/etc/resolv.conf" file can be created as follows: $ sudo echo -n > /etc/resolv.conf