Check: AS24-U1-000820
Apache Server 2.4 UNIX Server STIG:
AS24-U1-000820
(in versions v2 r7 through v2 r4)
Title
The Apache web server must be protected from being stopped by a non-privileged user. (Cat II impact)
Discussion
An attacker has at least two reasons to stop a web server. The first is to cause a denial of service (DoS), and the second is to put in place changes the attacker made to the web server configuration. To prohibit an attacker from stopping the Apache web server, the process ID (pid) of the web server and the utilities used to start/stop it must be protected from access by non-privileged users. By knowing the "pid" and having access to the Apache web server utilities, a non-privileged user has a greater capability of stopping the server, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Check Content
Review the web server documentation and deployed configuration to determine where the process ID is stored and which utilities are used to start/stop the web server. Locate the httpd.pid file and list its permission set and owner/group # find / -name “httpd.pid Output should be similar to: /run/httpd/httpd.pid # ls -laH /run/httpd/httpd.pid Output should be similar -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5 Jun 13 03:18 /run/httpd/httpd.pid If the file owner/group is not an administrative service account, this is a finding. If permission set is not 644 or more restrictive, this is a finding. Verify the Apache service utilities (binaries) have the correct permission set and are user/group owned by an administrator account # ls -laH /usr/sbin/service Output should be similar: -rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 3.2K Aug 19, 2019 /usr/sbin/service # ls -laH /usr/sbin/apachectl Output should be similar: -rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 4.2K Oct 8, 2019 /usr/sbin/apachectl If the service utilities owner/group is not an administrative service account, this is a finding. If permission set is not 755 or more restrictive, this is a finding.
Fix Text
Review the web server documentation and deployed configuration to determine where the process ID is stored and which utilities are used to start/stop the web server. Determine where the "httpd.pid" file is located by running the following command: find / -name "httpd.pid" Run the following commands: # cd <'httpd.pid location'>/ # chown <'service account'> httpd.pid # chmod 644 httpd.pid # cd /usr/sbin # chown <'service account'> service apachectl # chmod 755 service apachectl
Additional Identifiers
Rule ID: SV-214267r881458_rule
Vulnerability ID: V-214267
Group Title: SRG-APP-000435-WSR-000147
Expert Comments
CCIs
Number | Definition |
---|---|
CCI-002385 |
The information system protects against or limits the effects of organization-defined types of denial of service attacks by employing organization-defined security safeguards. |
Controls
Number | Title |
---|---|
SC-5 |
Denial Of Service Protection |