[jpetersen]

Originally Posted by Spiral

Like PlatinumServerM said above, switch your PHP from DSO over to SuPHP
and then make your /tmp partition non-executable and disallow escalations
(yes I've posted on both of those recently as well - look at my old posts)

If suPHP is being used, then it isn't necessary to use /tmp for any attacks that require execve() and friends. The same goes for attacks that require suid/sgid functionality. How many people actually have /home mounted as a separate partition, and have it mounted nosuid (and possibly noexec)? And what about checking the other partitions for world writeable locations which could be used to bypass noexec and nosuid restrictions? "securing" /tmp is not a means to and end, but is just 1 piece of larger set of actions requried to achieve the desired results.

If you would like more one on one assistance to more aggressively attack
these issues and maybe close out more hidden problems then contact me
and I'll be glad to give you a hand with that.

Giving random people access to your server is a really bad idea. There has been a number of posts from the Spiral account over the years asking for people to provide access to their servers. If you want to help close out more hidden problems, why not create a publicly available tutorial for things to look for that will help people to help themselves, and that everyone can learn from?



edit: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?p=4637475

This is why you don't give random people access to your box. Go with an established server administration company.