Description

Junos devices will respond to packets using the Record Route IP Option by default

Symptoms

The Record Route IP Option is read by the kernel by default. This option is used to trace the route an IP packet takes through the network.

The following is from RFC 791 , pg. 20, 21:

"The record route option provides a means to record the route of an internet datagram.
...
When an internet module routes a datagram it checks to see if the record route option is present. If it is, it inserts its own internet address as known in the environment into which this datagram is being forwarded into the recorded route beginning at the byte indicated by the pointer, and increments the pointer by four."

This may be a security concern. Some administrators may choose to disable the feature.

Solution

Some applications rely on the Record Route IP Option, so it is enabled by default.

The Record Route IP Option can be disabled manually by the root administrator. To view the current status:

junos> start shell user root
root@junos% sysctl -a | grep ip_rr
net.inet.ip.ip_rr: 1

The value of 1 indicates the default value, where Record Route is used. To change the behavior:

root@junos% sysctl -w net.inet.ip.ip_rr=0

This will need to be done each time the Routing Engine restarts.