When the so-called 'sticky bit' is set on a directory, only the owner of a given file may
remove that file from the directory. Without the sticky bit, any user with write access to a
directory may remove any file in the directory. Setting the sticky bit prevents users from
removing each other's files. In cases where there is no reason for a directory to be
world-writable, a better solution is to remove that permission rather than to set the sticky
bit. However, if a directory is used by a particular application, consult that application's
documentation instead of blindly changing modes.
To set the sticky bit on a world-writable directory DIR, run the following command:
$ sudo chmod +t DIR
warning alert:
Warning
This rule can take a long time to perform the check and might consume a considerable
amount of resources depending on the number of directories present on the system. It is
not a problem in most cases, but especially systems with a large number of directories can
be affected. See https://access.redhat.com/articles/6999111.
Rationale
Failing to set the sticky bit on public directories allows unauthorized users to delete files
in the directory structure.
The only authorized public directories are those temporary directories supplied with the
system, or those designed to be temporary file repositories. The setting is normally reserved
for directories used by the system, by users for temporary file storage (such as /tmp),
and for directories requiring global read/write access.
ISA-62443-2-1-2009, Security for Industrial Automation and Control Systems Part 2-1: Establishing an Industrial Automation and Control Systems Security Program
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Define Excluded
(Non-Local) File Systems and Paths
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
excluded_fstypes:
- afs
- ceph
- cifs
- smb3
- smbfs
- sshfs
- ncpfs
- ncp
- nfs
- nfs4
- gfs
- gfs2
- glusterfs
- gpfs
- pvfs2
- ocfs2
- lustre
- davfs
- fuse.sshfs
excluded_paths:
- dev
- proc
- run
- sys
search_paths: []
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Find Relevant
Root Directories Ignoring Pre-Defined Excluded Paths
ansible.builtin.find:
paths: /
file_type: directory
excludes: '{{ excluded_paths }}'
hidden: true
recurse: false
register: result_relevant_root_dirs
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Include
Relevant Root Directories in a List of Paths to be Searched
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
search_paths: '{{ search_paths | union([item.path]) }}'
loop: '{{ result_relevant_root_dirs.files }}'
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Increment
Search Paths List with Local Partitions Mount Points
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
search_paths: '{{ search_paths | union([item.mount]) }}'
loop: '{{ ansible_mounts }}'
when:
- item.fstype not in excluded_fstypes
- item.mount != '/'
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Increment
Search Paths List with Local NFS File System Targets
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
search_paths: '{{ search_paths | union([item.device.split('':'')[1]]) }}'
loop: '{{ ansible_mounts }}'
when: item.device is search("localhost:")
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Define Rule
Specific Facts
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
world_writable_dirs: []
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Find All
Uncompliant Directories in Local File Systems
ansible.builtin.command:
cmd: find {{ item }} -xdev -type d ( -perm -0002 -a ! -perm -1000 )
loop: '{{ search_paths }}'
changed_when: false
register: result_found_dirs
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Create List
of World Writable Directories Without Sticky Bit
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
world_writable_dirs: '{{ world_writable_dirs | union(item.stdout_lines) | list
}}'
loop: '{{ result_found_dirs.results }}'
when: result_found_dirs is not skipped and item is not skipped
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy
- name: Verify that All World-Writable Directories Have Sticky Bits Set - Ensure Sticky
Bit is Set on Local World Writable Directories
ansible.builtin.file:
path: '{{ item }}'
mode: a+t
loop: '{{ world_writable_dirs }}'
tags:
- DISA-STIG-RHEL-09-232245
- NIST-800-53-AC-6(1)
- NIST-800-53-CM-6(a)
- PCI-DSSv4-2.2.6
- dir_perms_world_writable_sticky_bits
- low_complexity
- low_disruption
- medium_severity
- no_reboot_needed
- restrict_strategy