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VA Technical Reference Model v 26.1

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a Linux distribution targeted toward the commercial market and provides installation routines, pre-configured components, and support services that make the installation and maintenance of the operating system more robust.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information System Security Officer (ISSO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v25.7
Decision Date:	07/22/2025 at 02:03:45 UTC
Aliases:	RHEL, Redhat Linux
Introduced By:	ARB
Vendor Name:	Red Hat
Cage Code:	N/A

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

You must be logged into the RSAA website prior to clicking the Attestation URLs or the URLs won't open.

Major versions and minor versions of that Major released on or after 09/14/2022 are NOT EXEMPT. Major Versions released before 09/14/2022 are EXEMPT as well as minor versions of that Major regardless of release date.

Version	Release Date	Vendor Desupport Date
3.x
5.4	09/02/2009
5.5	03/30/2010
5.6	01/13/2011
5.7	07/21/2011
6.1	05/19/2011
4.x	02/15/2005	02/29/2012
5.x	03/15/2007	03/31/2017
6.x	11/10/2010	11/30/2020
7.x	07/31/2017	06/30/2026
8.x	05/07/2019	05/31/2029
9.x	05/17/2022
10.x	05/20/2025

Current Decision Matrix (07/17/2025)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information System Security Officer (ISSO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VAIT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported.

Legend:

White	Authorized: The technology/standard has been authorized for use.
Yellow	Authorized w/ Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[a] : This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[b] : VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unauthorized may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Unauthorized: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[c] : The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology authorized with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology authorized with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered Unauthorized, Conditions Required ^[a] .

<Past

CY2026

CY2027

CY2028

Future>

Release

4.x

Unauthorized, Conditions Required (POA&M Required)

Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[a]

5.x

Unauthorized, Conditions Required (POA&M Required)

Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[a]

6.x

Unauthorized, Conditions Required (POA&M Required)

Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[a]

7.x

Unauthorized, Conditions Required (POA&M Required)

Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[a]

8.x

Authorized w/ Constraints
[18, 20, 22, 23]

9.x

Authorized w/ Constraints
[18, 20, 22, 23]

10.x

Unauthorized, Conditions Required (POA&M Required)

Unauthorized, Conditions Required^[a]

Note:

At the time of writing, version 10.0 is the most current version, released 05/20/2025.

A baseline configuration of this technology was developed by the BCM team. At the time of writing, the baseline versions are 8.x and 9.x.

Decision Constraints


[18]	This technology has received one or more VA security bulletins that provide specific guidance on vulnerability patching and mitigation. It is the responsibility of VA system owners to ensure that the appropriate mitigations are taken to address all known and future discovered vulnerabilities with this product. See the Reference tab for more information on security bulletins related to this product.

[20]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[22]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with both VA Handbook 6500 and VA Directive 6500.

[23]	Configuration Baselines standards for Red Hat Linux are published and maintained by VA on the Baseline Configuration Management (BCM) website and must be implemented and followed for each instance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. There are baselines for On-Premise, Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) implementations. See the reference section of this entry for more information on baselines. As of this writing, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, is the current published VA baseline standard for all platforms. Users must not utilize Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (Servers), as it is at the time of writing, unapproved in the TRM.

Type	Name	Source	Description
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.

Name	Description
Cairo	Cairo is an open-source graphics library that provides a vector graphics-based, device-independent API for software developers.
cURL versions bundled with Red Hat Enterprise Linux	Specific versions of cURL that are bundled, included and supported with this technology may be used with this technology. The technology vendor for this product has assumed responsibility for vulnerability patching and support of the version(s) it provides. The administrator of the machine is responsible for ensuring all relevant patches are applied. Any other version of cURL that are not bundled with this technology must comply with the cURL standalone installations TRM entry.
Firefox	Firefox is a free and open source web browser and a core package of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Updates to core packages should be applied through the operating system to maintain inter-package compatibility as determined by the vendor. As a result, core package versions may lag behind available updates for individual products. As a core package of Linux without security constraints identified in the current authorized Red Hat Enterprise Linux VA baseline, this browser is permitted for use on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Git	Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in any set of computer files, usually used for coordinating work among programmers who are collaboratively developing source code during software development. Its goals include speed, data integrity, and support for distributed, non-linear workflows.
GNU Nano	GNU nano is a text editor for Unix-like computing systems or operating environments using a command line interface.
Gzip	Gzip is one of the compression algorithms that allows the user to reduce the size of a file and keep the original file mode, ownership, and timestamp. Gzip is the algorithm that is used by web servers to compress pages and assets before sending it to the client browser. Gzip also refers to the .gz file format and the gzip utility, which the user can use to compress and decompress files.
Kickstart	This component is an interface for developing kickstart profiles that can be used to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on either new or already-registered systems. This enables systems to be installed automatically to particular specifications.
libcurl	libcurl is a client-side URL transfer library.
Libgcrypt	Libgcrypt is a cryptography library developed as a separated module of GnuPG.
libnsl	A library within the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system, which provides the necessary functions for accessing the Network Information Service (NIS), also known as Yellow Pages (YP), allowing applications to retrieve network-wide user and group information from a central server
libwebp	The libwebp packages provide a library and tools for the WebP graphics format. WebP is an image format with a lossy compression of digital photographic images
Logical Volume Manager (LVM)	Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is a tool for logical volume management which includes allocating disks, striping, mirroring and resizing logical volumes.
Open Java Development Kit	Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports Open Java Development Kit versions that run on their product. Versions of Open Java Development Kit that are bundled, patched and supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux for a specific version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux may be used on that version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as long as that version of Open Java Development Kit is patched, maintained and supported.
Open Lightweight Directory Access Protocol	Open Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an open source implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (Open Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - Request For Comments 4510) which provides access to X.500 standard directory services. Open Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is a core package of Red Hat Enterprise Linux . Updates to core packages should be applied through the operating system to maintain inter-package compatibility as determined by the vendor. As a result, core package versions may lag behind available updates for individual products.
Open Secure Sockets Layer	Open Secure Sockets Layer is an open source cryptography library for implementing Transport Layer Security (TLS) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security protocols typically used to encrypt internet traffic. Open Secure Sockets Layer is a core package of Red Hat Enterprise Linux . Updates to core packages should be applied through the operating system to maintain inter-package compatibility as determined by the vendor. As a result, core package versions may lag behind available updates for individual products.
OpenSSH (Secure Shell)	OpenSSH is a suite of secure networking utilities based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, which provides a secure channel over an unsecured network in a client–server architecture.
Perl	Perl is a feature rich programming language with binary distribution packages for various platforms. It is an object-oriented, procedural and functional programming language, with C/C++ extensibility and database integration. Perl is a core package of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Updates to core packages should be applied through the operating system to maintain inter-package compatibility as determined by the vendor. As a result, core package versions may lag behind available updates for individual products.
PHP	PHP is a hypertext processor and general-purpose scripting language that is typically used for web development to create dynamic web pages. PHP is a core package of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Updates to core packages should be applied through the operating system to maintain inter-package compatibility as determined by the vendor. As a result, core package versions may lag behind available updates for individual products.
Postgre Structure Query Language (PostgreSQL)	PostgreSQL, also known as Postgres, is a free and open-source relational database management system emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance.
Python	Python is an interpreted scripting and programming language. This standard supports high-level data structures and uses a simplified approach to object-oriented programming and rapid application development. Additionally, this standard contains programming features such as generators and list comprehensions and includes automatic memory management practices.
Red Hat Identity Manager (IdM)	Red Hat Identity Manager (IdM), is designed to provide an integrated identity management service for a wide range of clients, including Linux, Mac, and even Windows. IdM combines LDAP, Kerberos, DNS, and PKI with a rich management framework. Frequently, IdM is described as `Active Directory for Linux`.
Red Hat Scalable File System (XFS)	XFS is a scalable, high-performance 64-bit journaling file system that supports very large files and file systems on a single host.
setoubleshoot-server	If you plan to enable SELinux on systems where it has been previously disabled or if you run a service in a non-standard configuration, you might need to troubleshoot situations potentially blocked by SELinux. Note that in most cases, SELinux denials are signs of misconfiguration.
Squid	Squid is a proxy server that caches content to reduce bandwidth and load web pages more quickly. This chapter describes how to set up Squid as a proxy for the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) protocol, as well as authentication and restricting access.
ssh pass	The sshpass utility is designed to run Secure Shell (SSH) using the keyboard-interactive password authentication mode, but in a non-interactive way.
Structure Query Language Lite (SQLite)	SQLite is a database engine written in the C programming language.
Vim	Vim allows you to merge files using vimdiff—which is not the same as diff, the comparison utility—as well as an autocomplete feature and a comparison mode that is similar to the diff utility. This editor`s real change and utility is supporting plugins and multiple scripting languages such as Perl and Python.
x11	x11 provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for networked computers. This component creates a layer where software is written to use a generalized set of commands, allowing for reuse of programs on a computer that implements X. Use of x11 must conform to all VA security standards and policies and it is recommend that a standard configuration guide be developed and followed for this software.
xz	xz is a user-space tools for compressing and decompressing files with the Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain-Algorithm (LZMA) algorithm


Platforms and Storage Operating Systems	OS - Server

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

The technology has a comprehensive set of documentation.
This product has a long support lifecycle with security patches and updates available for ten years for major versions.
This product adheres to the Linux Standard Base (LSB) in an effort to develop and promote a set of open standards that will increase compatibility among Linux distributions. This enables software applications to run on compliant systems.
This technology is Federal Information Processing (FIPS) 140-2 compliant.

Adoption Risks

This technology can potentially use Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (Servers), an unapproved technology.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
There are Threat & Assessment Analysis Portal (TAAP) bulletins associated with this technology.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
The product includes several Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) validated functionality including Kernel Crypto API Cryptographic Module, dm-crypt Cryptographic Module, OpenSwan Cryptographic Module, OpenSSH-Client Cryptographic Module, OpenSSH-Server Cryptographic Module, OpenSSL Cryptographic Module, and Libgcrypt Cryptographic Module.
There are known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) associated with this technology. Please see https://nvd.NIST.gov/vuln/search for more details.

Architectural Benefits

This technology is compatible with virtual machines, therefore consistent with the enterprise Server Virtualize First Policy (VAIQ 7266972 08-27-2012).
This technology has a secure configuration baseline.

- The information contained on this page is accurate as of the Decision Date (07/22/2025 at 02:03:45 UTC).

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VA Technical Reference Model v 26.1

General Information

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Current Decision Matrix (07/17/2025)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

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VA Technical Reference Model v 26.1

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (07/17/2025)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Optional Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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