On an existing Linux installation, first check whether the running kernel was told to disable KASLR: run cat /proc/cmdline and look for the exact token nokaslr. If it is present, remove it from your distribution’s persistent boot configuration and reboot. A custom kernel must also be built with CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE=y; removing nokaslr cannot enable KASLR in a kernel compiled without support.
What KASLR does—and what controls it
Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR) changes where kernel memory is located, making attacks that rely on known kernel addresses harder. The Linux kernel’s self-protection guide explains: “Since the location of kernel memory is almost always instrumental in mounting a successful attack, making the location non-deterministic raises the difficulty of an exploit.” KASLR is a hardening measure, not a guarantee against exploitation; information leaks can reveal useful addresses. See the Linux kernel self-protection documentation.
For a supported kernel, the build-time control is CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE. The kernel command-line option nokaslr disables kernel and module base-offset randomization when that build option is enabled. The exact support, dependencies, and behavior vary by architecture and boot path; consult the kernel configuration reference for the target architecture. For example, x86 lists CONFIG_RELOCATABLE as a dependency. Some architectures use entropy supplied by the bootloader through /chosen/kaslr-seed, while EFI boot may use firmware RNG support.
Kernel KASLR is separate from user-space ASLR. The randomize_va_space setting concerns user processes; changing it does not remove the kernel’s nokaslr boot argument or add KASLR support to a kernel build.
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Enable KASLR on an existing distribution kernel
- Inspect the running kernel’s command line. Run
cat /proc/cmdline. If the output contains the standalone tokennokaslr, the running kernel received an instruction to disable KASLR. The kernel documents this parameter in its command-line parameter reference. - Remove
nokaslrfrom the persistent boot configuration. Use the procedure documented for your Linux distribution and bootloader. Remove only that disabling token; regenerate bootloader configuration if your distribution’s procedure requires it. The correct file and commands depend on the distribution and boot setup, so do not apply a GRUB or systemd-boot command intended for another system. - Reboot and check again. After reboot, run
cat /proc/cmdlineand confirm thatnokaslris absent. The kernel parameter documentation defines the effect of the token; its absence alone does not establish that the kernel was built with KASLR support. - Check the running kernel’s build configuration when available. Look for
CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE=yin/boot/config-$(uname -r), or in/proc/config.gzif the running kernel exposes its configuration there. Make sure you check the configuration for the kernel that is actually running.
Defaults vary among distributions and configurations. Red Hat’s RHEL 7 kernel administration guide is a version-specific historical example that describes KASLR as enabled by default and nokaslr as a way to disable it. That statement should not be generalized to current releases or other distributions.
Enable KASLR in a custom kernel
- Configure the kernel for the target architecture. Enable
CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASEin the kernel configuration and satisfy that architecture’s dependencies. On x86, the configuration reference listsCONFIG_RELOCATABLEas a dependency. Do not assume that x86 requirements or implementation details apply unchanged to another architecture. - Account for the boot path’s entropy support. Depending on architecture and firmware or bootloader, KASLR may rely on entropy provided through
/chosen/kaslr-seedor EFI firmware RNG support. Check the relevant architecture and boot-path guidance in the kernel configuration reference. - Build and install the configured kernel. The configuration change takes effect only in a kernel built with that setting; booting an older kernel does not use the new build option.
- Verify the running build and its command line. After booting the custom kernel, check
cat /proc/cmdlinefornokaslrand check the running kernel’s configuration forCONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE=y, if that configuration is exposed.
Choose the path that matches your system
| Situation | What to do | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Existing distribution kernel | Inspect /proc/cmdline; if nokaslr is present, remove it using your distribution’s boot configuration procedure, reboot, and verify. |
The running kernel must have been built with CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE; defaults and boot configuration procedures vary. |
| Custom kernel | Enable CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE in the kernel configuration, meet architecture and boot-path requirements, then build and install that kernel. |
Dependencies and entropy support depend on the target architecture and boot path. |
What successful verification establishes
A running command line without nokaslr shows that this disabling token was not passed to the kernel at boot. For a custom build, finding CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_BASE=y in the configuration corresponding to the running kernel confirms the relevant build setting. Neither check should be substituted for the other: the command line describes boot arguments, while the configuration describes how the kernel was built.
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The x86 implementation also randomizes address regions for the physical memory mapping, vmalloc, and vmemmap, preserving their relative order. This is an x86-specific description, not a universal account of every architecture’s implementation; see the x86 memory-layout documentation.
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