In Unix file system permissions, the "others" category refers to all users except the owner of the file system resource and the members of the group assigned to this resource.

Granting permissions to this category can lead to unintended access to files or directories that could allow attackers to obtain sensitive information, disrupt services or elevate privileges.

Ask Yourself Whether

There is a risk if you answered yes to any of those questions.

Recommended Secure Coding Practices

The most restrictive possible permissions should be assigned to files and directories.

Sensitive Code Example

chmod("foo", 0777); // Sensitive

umask(0); // Sensitive
umask(0750); // Sensitive

For Symfony Filesystem:

use Symfony\Component\Filesystem\Filesystem;

$fs = new Filesystem();
$fs->chmod("foo", 0777); // Sensitive

For Laravel Filesystem:

use Illuminate\Filesystem\Filesystem;

$fs = new Filesystem();
$fs->chmod("foo", 0777); // Sensitive

Compliant Solution

chmod("foo", 0750); // Compliant

umask(0027); // Compliant

For Symfony Filesystem:

use Symfony\Component\Filesystem\Filesystem;

$fs = new Filesystem();
$fs->chmod("foo", 0750); // Compliant

For Laravel Filesystem:

use Illuminate\Filesystem\Filesystem;

$fs = new Filesystem();
$fs->chmod("foo", 0750); // Compliant

See