RHEL 9 must mount /var/log with the noexec option.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257871	RHEL-09-231150	SV-257871r958804_rule		Medium

Description

The "noexec" mount option causes the system to not execute binary files. This option must be used for mounting any file system not containing approved binary files, as they may be incompatible. Executing files from untrusted file systems increases the opportunity for nonprivileged users to attain unauthorized administrative access.

STIG	Date
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-12-04

Details

Check Text (C-61612r925598_chk)

Verify "/var/log" is mounted with the "noexec" option:

$ mount | grep /var/log

/dev/mapper/rhel-var-log on /var/log type xfs (rw,nodev,nosuid,noexec,seclabel)

If the "/var/log" file system is mounted without the "noexec" option, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-61536r925599_fix)

Modify "/etc/fstab" to use the "noexec" option on the "/var/log" directory.