Title

Network devices must have HTTP service for administrative access disabled. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The additional services that the router is enabled for increases the risk for an attack since the router will listen for these services. In addition, these services provide an unsecured method for an attacker to gain access to the router. Most recent software versions support remote configuration and monitoring using the World Wide Web's HTTP protocol. In general, HTTP access is equivalent to interactive access to the router. The authentication protocol used for HTTP is equivalent to sending a clear-text password across the network, and, unfortunately, there is no effective provision in HTTP for challenge-based or one-time passwords. This makes HTTP a relatively risky choice for use across the public Internet. Any additional services that are enabled increase the risk for an attack since the router will listen for these services.

Check Content

Review the device configuration to determine that HTTP is not enabled for administrative access. If the device allows the use of HTTP for administrative access, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the device to disable using HTTP (port 80) for administrative access.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID:

Vulnerability ID: V-3085

Group Title:

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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