Title

The web server must produce log records containing sufficient information to establish the source of events. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Web server logging capability is critical for accurate forensic analysis. Without sufficient and accurate information, a correct replay of the events cannot be determined. Ascertaining the correct source, e.g. source IP, of the events is important during forensic analysis. Correctly determining the source will add information to the overall reconstruction of the logable event. By determining the source of the event correctly, analysis of the enterprise can be undertaken to determine if the event compromised other assets within the enterprise. Without sufficient information establishing the source of the logged event, investigation into the cause of event is severely hindered. Log record content that may be necessary to satisfy the requirement of this control includes, but is not limited to, time stamps, source and destination IP addresses, user/process identifiers, event descriptions, application-specific events, success/fail indications, file names involved, access control, or flow control rules invoked.

Check Content

Review the web server documentation and deployment configuration to determine if the web server is configured to generate sufficient information to resolve the source, e.g. source IP, of the log event. Request a user access the hosted application and generate logable events, and then review the logs to determine if the source of the event can be established. If the source of the event cannot be determined, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the web server to generate the source of each logable event.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-206362r960900_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-206362

Group Title: SRG-APP-000098

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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