Title

The application server must employ approved cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure of information and/or detect changes to information during transmission. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Preventing the disclosure or modification of transmitted information requires that application servers take measures to employ approved cryptography in order to protect the information during transmission over the network. This is usually achieved through the use of Transport Layer Security (TLS), SSL VPN, or IPSec tunnel. If data in transit is unencrypted, it is vulnerable to disclosure and modification. If approved cryptographic algorithms are not used, encryption strength cannot be assured. TLS must be enabled and non-FIPS-approved SSL versions must be disabled. NIST SP 800-52 specifies the preferred configurations for government systems.

Check Content

Review application server documentation and configuration to determine if the application server employs approved cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure of information and/or detect changes to information during transmission. If the application server does not employ approved cryptographic mechanisms, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the application server to use AES 128 or AES 256 encryption for data in transit.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-204818r879811_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-204818

Group Title: SRG-APP-000440

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.