1.1.8.2 Ensure noexec option set on /dev/shm partition

Information

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

Rationale:

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

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

<device> /dev/shm <fstype> 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/files/3796

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: bf39ad98cc5f5f881c048f1303cf73636e84f817414ee3807bb954f486ea592f