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1.1.7 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. See the fstab(5) manual page for more information.
Run the following command to remount /dev/shm:

# mount -o remount,noexec,nodev,nosuid /dev/shm

Additional Information:

/dev/shm is mounted automatically by systemd. /dev/shm needs to be added to /etc/fstab to add mount options even though it is already being mounted on boot.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3393

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL, CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT, MEDIA PROTECTION, SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION

References: 800-53|AC-3, 800-53|AC-5, 800-53|AC-6, 800-53|CM-1, 800-53|CM-2, 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, 800-53|CM-7(1), 800-53|CM-9, 800-53|MP-2, 800-53|SA-3, 800-53|SA-8, 800-53|SA-10, CSCv7|2.6

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: b7bb75287765dccbef4a92aa40d6f4d85ade25df67dee5d7d38e74952c67ce74