symlinking and security

[eighpalm]

I had a thought...

if you symlink something like your /tmp to your /var does that pose a security threat if your /tmp is on the same partition as your / ? I have /var on a separate partition so in case of a /var bomb it is contained.

I just wanted to know if you have a symlink to something does that provide an access or a hole in security? In this case to the partition the / is located.

[Craig McPherson]

It's a good idea to symlink /tmp to /var/tmp. Then, if you have /var on a seperate partition, you'll be immune to having your system immobilized by temp bombing.

Technically, /tmp is only for use DURING bootup, and after bootup everything is supposed to use /var/tmp for temporary files, but just to be same, it's best to make sure they both reside on your /var partition, by symlinking.