IBM Parm OSPROTECT with CA-Vantage.

Products

• Vantage Storage Resource Manager
• GRAPHICAL MANAGEMENT INTERFACE

Issue/Introduction

The customer is on z/OS 2.2 upgrading to z/OS 2.3.  The respond should be for both operating systems.  

Customer is considering setting IBM parm OSPROTECT  to a value of 1.  By setting this value are there any issues with the product? If  so, are there any ptf's that is required?  I have included the IBM description of this parm below.

The OSPROTECT parameter specifies the operating system mitigation mode for unauthorized programs and users.

The operating system provides controls intended to help prevent unauthorized programs and users from being able to access restricted data using conventional means. Malicious or compromised unauthorized programs and users may use a security exploit to try to circumvent these controls and access restricted data. A mitigation mode determines whether the security mitigation is active or inactive. The operating system supports the following mitigation modes:

SYSTEM

Specifying SYSTEM activates the default mitigation mode intended to help prevent unauthorized programs and users from accessing restricted data using conventional means.

1

Specifying the number 1 activates mitigation mode 1, intended to help prevent unauthorized programs and users from being able to indirectly read restricted data. Mitigation mode 1 also includes the default mitigation mode (see SYSTEM). Mitigation mode 1 may have a minor impact to system performance and/or workload execution

Environment

Release : 14.0

Component : CA Vantage Storage Resource Manager  z/OS r14.1 installed in a z/OS environment with IBM APAR OA54807 applied.  

Cause

IBM APAR OA54807 introduces a new IEASYS Parm called OSPROTECT which specifies the operating system mode for unauthorized programs and users.   
Software must no longer reference the IHAPSA field PSASTAK. With this PTF, PSASTAK is no longer the beginning of the normal FRR stack. PSACSTK is an existing pointer to the beginning of the normal FRR stack. Software that references PSASTAK must be converted to use PSACSTK as the pointer to the normal FRR stack.The PSASTAK is related to recovery management and the apar itself changes the definintion of the PSASTAK field in module IHAPSA  to PSACSTK and software continuing to reference PSASTAK can receive a S0C4. 

Resolution

There are no Vantage components that reference or use either the OSPROTECT parm or the PSASTAK field so there is no impact.