cis-ubuntu1604-v200-1-1-2

name	cis-ubuntu1604-v200-1-1-2
description	Ensure /tmp is configured
category	cis-storage
version	2.0.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","ubuntu","linux","ubuntu-16.04","filesystem","tmp","partition","tmpfs"]
cis_id	1.1.2
cis_benchmark	CIS Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS Benchmark v2.0.0
tech_stack	["ubuntu","linux"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

Ensure /tmp is configured

Description

The /tmp directory is a world-writable directory used for temporary storage by all users and some applications.

Rationale

Making /tmp its own file system allows an administrator to set the noexec option on the mount, making /tmp useless for an attacker to install executable code. It would also prevent an attacker from establishing a hardlink to a system setuid program and wait for it to be updated. Once the program was updated, the hardlink would be broken and the attacker would have his own copy of the program. If the program happened to have a security vulnerability, the attacker could continue to exploit the known flaw.

This can be accomplished by either mounting tmpfs to /tmp, or creating a separate partition for /tmp.

Impact

Since the /tmp directory is intended to be world-writable, there is a risk of resource exhaustion if it is not bound to a separate partition.

Running out of /tmp space is a problem regardless of what kind of filesystem lies under it, but in a default installation a disk-based /tmp will essentially have the whole disk available, as it only creates a single / partition. On the other hand, a RAM-based /tmp as with tmpfs will almost certainly be much smaller, which can lead to applications filling up the filesystem much more easily.

/tmp utilizing tmpfs can be resized using the size={size} parameter on the Options line on the tmp.mount file.

Audit Procedure

Command Line

# findmnt /tmp

Expected Result

TARGET SOURCE FSTYPE OPTIONS
/tmp   tmpfs  tmpfs  rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec

Verify output shows /tmp is mounted to tmpfs or a system partition.

Remediation

Command Line

# Configure /etc/fstab as appropriate.
# Example:
# tmpfs  /tmp  tmpfs  defaults,rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime  0 0

# OR Run the following commands to enable systemd /tmp mounting:
# Run the following command to create the tmp.mount file is the correct location:
cp -v /usr/share/systemd/tmp.mount /etc/systemd/system/

# Edit /etc/systemd/system/tmp.mount to configure the /tmp mount:
# [Mount]
# What=tmpfs
# Where=/tmp
# Type=tmpfs
# Options=mode=1777,strictatime,nosuid,nodev,noexec


systemctl daemon-reload


systemctl --now  tmp.mount