1.1.15 Ensure nodev option set on /dev/shm partition

Information

The nodev mount option specifies that the filesystem cannot contain special devices.

Rationale:

Since the /dev/shm filesystem is not intended to support devices, set this option to ensure
that users cannot attempt to create special devices in /dev/shm partitions.

Solution

Edit the /etc/fstab file and add nodev to the fourth field (mounting options) for the
/dev/shm partition. See the fstab(5) manual page for more information.
Run the following command to remount /dev/shm :

# mount -o remount,nodev /dev/shm

Notes:

Some distributions mount /dev/shm through other means and require /dev/shm to be
added to /etc/fstab even though it is already being mounted on boot. Others may
configure /dev/shm in other locations and may override /etc/fstab configuration. Consult
the documentation appropriate for your distribution.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2420

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, CSCv6|13, CSCv7|5.1

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: dd97d34059a6c0f526665532bce9e8dda833b82e61c70ad5ff2f4ec03bbc2cf7