Details
The /tmp directory is a world-writable directory used for temporary storage by all users
and some applications.
*Rationale*
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. In addition, 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.
Solution
For new installations, during installation create a custom partition setup and specify a
separate partition for /tmp.For systems that were previously installed, use the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) to
create partitions.
Supportive Information
The following resource is also helpful.
This control applies to the following type of system Unix.