1.1.2.2.4 Ensure noexec option set on /dev/shm partition

Information

The noexec mount option specifies that the filesystem cannot contain executable binaries.

Setting this option on a file system prevents users from executing programs from shared memory. This deters users from introducing potentially malicious software on the system.

Solution

- IF - a separate partition exists for /dev/shm

Edit the /etc/fstab file and add noexec to the fourth field (mounting options) for the /dev/shm partition.

Example:

tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults,rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime 0 0

Run the following command to remount /dev/shm with the configured options:

# mount -o remount /dev/shm

Note: It is recommended to use tmpfs as the device/filesystem type as /dev/shm is used as shared memory space by applications.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/18209

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL, MEDIA PROTECTION

References: 800-53|AC-3, 800-53|AC-5, 800-53|AC-6, 800-53|MP-2, CSCv7|14.6

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: a940d05ecec885ec80632a9fdda6d90a9b64aed7cc0d2303916b9d9fe8db73e0