How to enable FIPS mode on RHEL system at the time of installation ?

Solution Verified - Updated

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Issue

  • Is there any way to perform FIPS compliant during RHEL installation?
  • Can I enable FIPS on my RHEL system at the beginning of installation?

Resolution

  • The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 140-2, is a computer security standard, developed by a U.S. Government and industry working group to validate the quality of cryptographic module. The FIPS 140-2 standard ensures that cryptographic tools implement their algorithms properly.

  • Ideally, when aiming for FIPS compliance, new machines should be installed from scratch with the installer booted using the fips=1 kernel argument. With this option, all keys' generations are done with FIPS-approved algorithms and continuous monitoring tests in place. After the installation, the system is configured to boot into FIPS mode automatically.

For RHEL 9 and earlier:

  • Step 1: At the start of installation highlight the "Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux" menu. Press the tab key to change configuration options.

  • Step 2: Add fips=1 parameter to the end of current line and press "Enter" to proceed with installation. ![alt text] (https://access.redhat.com/sites/default/files/images/2025-10-10-170245_639x480_scrot.png)

For RHEL 10:

  • Step 1: At the start of installation highlight the "Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux" menu. Press 'e' to edit the boot options.

  • Step 2: Navigate to the end of "linux" entry, and after the "quiet" directive add "fips=1". Press F10 or Ctrl-x to proceed with installation. ![alt text] (https://access.redhat.com/sites/default/files/images/2025-10-10-164757_720x469_scrot-2.png)

See also : Follow How can I make RHEL 6/7/8 FIPS 140-2 compliant? if you have escaped to enable FIPS mode during installation time and now you want to make it enable after installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6/7/8 .

Diagnostic Steps

  • Lets verify whether FIPS mode is enable or not after installation using any of the below command
# cat /proc/sys/crypto/fips_enabled
1

OR

# sysctl crypto.fips_enabled
crypto.fips_enabled = 1
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