cyberstrikeus 2.7 Create Separate Partition for /var/log (Scored)
Profile Applicability
- Level 1
Description
The /var/log directory is used by system services to store log data.
Rationale
There are two important reasons to ensure that system logs are stored on a separate partition: protection against resource exhaustion (since logs can grow quite large) and protection of audit data.
Audit Procedure
Using Command Line
grep "[[:space:]]/var/log[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab
Expected Result
A partition entry for /var/log should be returned. If the command emits no output then the system is not configured as recommended.
Remediation
Using Command Line
For new installations, during installation create a custom partition setup and specify a separate partition for /var/log.
For systems that were previously installed, use the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) to create partitions.
Default Value
By default, Ubuntu does not create a separate partition for /var/log.
References
- CIS Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server Benchmark v1.1.0
- AJ Lewis, "LVM HOWTO", http://tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/
Profile
Level 1 - Scored