Details

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

Rationale:

Removable media containing character and block special devices could be used to circumvent security controls by allowing non-root users to access sensitive device files such as /dev/kmem or the raw disk partitions.

Solution

Edit the /etc/fstab file and add nodev to the fourth field (mounting options) of all removable media partitions. Look for entries that have mount points that contain words such as floppy or cdrom. See the fstab(5) manual page for more information.

Supportive Information

The following resource is also helpful.

• https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3468

This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Access Control, Configuration Management, Identification and Authentication, Media Protection.This control applies to the following type of system Unix.

References

• 800-53|AC-3
• 800-53|CM-1
• 800-53|CM-2
• 800-53|CM-6
• 800-53|CM-7
• 800-53|IA-5
• 800-53|MP-2
• CSCv7|5.1
• CSCv7|13

Source

• Tenable.com/audits