Re: [RFC] ext2 and ext3 block reservations can be bypassed

[Mark Mielke]

Don't put /var/log on the same file system as /home, and don't grant
access to /var/log to any normal userid.

This isn't 'new'.

mark

On Tue, May 14, 2002 at 12:53:47PM -0500, Jesse Pollard wrote:
> If the root file system is ext2, it does become a security issue since
> currently active logs will continue to record log entries until the
> filesystem is absolutly filled. I should say, if the log device fills up,
> since the log directory is usually /var/log, or /var/adm. Some logs show
> up in etc, but that really depends on the configuration. It IS usefull if the
> filesystem is "full" due to attacks - daemons tend to terminate themselves,
> and their log entry indicates what the problem was. If it is an attack, then
> it's a security issue.
> 
> The only reason it helps fragmentation (subject to actual implementor
> statements) is that the filesystem code will use every scavanged block
> possible under saturation. When the filesystem gets cleand up later,
> these excessively fragmented files will remain, and continue to cause
> access delays.
> 
> Naturally, deleting (or backup/restore) the file(s) cleans up the fragmentation.
> 

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