Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark
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Configure HTTP PERL Scripts To Use TAINT Option
If the <code>mod_perl</code> module is installed, enable Perl Taint checking in <code>/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf</code>. To enable Perl Taint check...Rule Medium Severity -
Configure PHP Securely
PHP is a widely-used and often misconfigured server-side scripting language. It should be used with caution, but configured appropriately when need...Group -
Directory Restrictions
The Directory tags in the web server configuration file allow finer grained access control for a specified directory. All web directories should be...Group -
Web Content Directories Must Not Be Shared Anonymously
Web content directories should not be shared anonymously over remote filesystems such as <code>nfs</code> and <code>smb</code>. Remove the shares f...Rule Medium Severity -
Remove Write Permissions From Filesystem Paths And Server Scripts
Configure permissions for each instance of <code>Alias</code>, <code>ScriptAlias</code>, and <code>ScriptAliasMatch</code> that exist. <pre>$ sudo ...Rule High Severity -
Disable Anonymous FTP Access
If any directories that contain dynamic scripts can be accessed via FTP by any group or user that does not require access, remove permissions to su...Rule Medium Severity -
Ignore HTTPD .htaccess Files
SetAllowOverridetononefor each instant of<Directory>.Rule Medium Severity -
Limit Available Methods
Web server methods are defined in section 9 of RFC 2616 ( <a href="http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616.txt">http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616.txt</a>...Rule Unknown Severity -
Restrict Other Critical Directories
All accessible web directories should be configured with similarly restrictive settings. The <code>Options</code> directive should be limited to ne...Rule Unknown Severity -
Restrict Root Directory
The <code>httpd</code> root directory should always have the most restrictive configuration enabled. <pre><Directory / > Options None A...Rule Unknown Severity -
Restrict Web Directory
The default configuration for the web (<code>/var/www/html</code>) Directory allows directory indexing (<code>Indexes</code>) and the following of ...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable Proxy Support
The <code>proxy</code> module provides proxying support, allowing <code>httpd</code> to forward requests and serve as a gateway for other servers. ...Rule Unknown Severity -
Minimize Web Server Loadable Modules
A default installation of <code>httpd</code> includes a plethora of dynamically shared objects (DSO) that are loaded at run-time. Unlike the aforem...Group -
httpd Core Modules
These modules comprise a basic subset of modules that are likely needed for base <code>httpd</code> functionality; ensure they are not commented ou...Group -
Disable Cache Support
The <code>cache</code> module allows <code>httpd</code> to cache data, optimizing access to frequently accessed content. However, it introduces pot...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable CGI Support
The <code>cgi</code> module allows HTML to interact with the CGI web programming language. <br><br> If this functionality is unnecessary, comment o...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable HTTP Digest Authentication
The <code>auth_digest</code> module provides encrypted authentication sessions. If this functionality is unnecessary, comment out the related modul...Rule Unknown Severity -
Enable log_config_module For HTTPD Logging
The <code>log_config_module</code> should exist and be configured in the <code>/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf</code> file by adding the following modul...Rule Medium Severity -
Disable LDAP Support
The <code>ldap</code> module provides HTTP authentication via an LDAP directory. If its functionality is unnecessary, comment out the related modul...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable MIME Magic
The <code>mime_magic</code> module provides a second layer of MIME support that in most configurations is likely extraneous. If its functionality i...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable HTTP mod_rewrite
The <code>mod_rewrite</code> module is very powerful and can protect against certain classes of web attacks. However, it is also very complex and h...Rule Unknown Severity -
Set httpd ServerSignature Directive to Off
<code>ServerSignature Off</code> restricts <code>httpd</code> from displaying server version number on error pages. <br><br> Add or correct the fol...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable Server Activity Status
The <code>status</code> module provides real-time access to statistics on the internal operation of the web server. This may constitute an unnecess...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable Web Server Configuration Display
The <code>info</code> module creates a web page illustrating the configuration of the web server. This can create an unnecessary security leak and ...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable Server Side Includes
Server Side Includes provide a method of dynamically generating web pages through the insertion of server-side code. However, the technology is als...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable URL Correction on Misspelled Entries
The <code>speling</code> module attempts to find a document match by allowing one misspelling in an otherwise failed request. If this functionality...Rule Unknown Severity -
Disable WebDAV (Distributed Authoring and Versioning)
WebDAV is an extension of the HTTP protocol that provides distributed and collaborative access to web content. If its functionality is unnecessary,...Rule Unknown Severity -
Minimize Modules for HTTP Basic Authentication
The following modules are necessary if this web server will provide content that will be restricted by a password. <br><br> Authentication can be p...Group -
Minimize Configuration Files Included
The <code>Include</code> directive directs <code>httpd</code> to load supplementary configuration files from a provided path. The default configura...Group -
Set httpd ServerTokens Directive to Prod
<code>ServerTokens Prod</code> restricts information in page headers, returning only the word "Apache." <br><br> Add or correct the following direc...Rule Unknown Severity -
Minimize Various Optional Components
The following modules perform very specific tasks, sometimes providing access to just a few additional directives. If such functionality is not req...Group -
Use Appropriate Modules to Improve httpd's Security
Among the modules available for <code>httpd</code> are several whose use may improve the security of the web server installation. This section reco...Group -
Deploy mod_security
The <code>security</code> module provides an application level firewall for <code>httpd</code>. Following its installation with the base ruleset, s...Group -
Install mod_security
Install the <code>security</code> module: The <code>mod_security</code> package can be installed with the following command: <pre> $ sudo yum insta...Rule Unknown Severity -
Deploy mod_ssl
Because HTTP is a plain text protocol, all traffic is susceptible to passive monitoring. If there is a need for confidentiality, SSL should be conf...Group -
Enable Transport Layer Security (TLS) Encryption
Disable old SSL and TLS version and enable the latest TLS encryption by setting the following in <code>/etc/httpd/conf.modules.d/ssl.conf</code>: <...Rule Medium Severity -
Configure A Valid Server Certificate
Configure the web site to use a valid organizationally defined certificate. For DoD, this is a DoD server certificate issued by the DoD CA.Rule Medium Severity -
Install mod_ssl
Install the <code>mod_ssl</code> module: The <code>mod_ssl</code> package can be installed with the following command: <pre> $ sudo yum install mod...Rule Unknown Severity -
Require Client Certificates
<code>SSLVerifyClient</code> should be set and configured to <code>require</code> by setting the following in <code>/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf</cod...Rule Medium Severity -
Restrict Web Server Information Leakage
The <code>ServerTokens</code> and <code>ServerSignature</code> directives determine how much information the web server discloses about the configu...Group -
Disable Cyrus IMAP
If the system does not need to operate as an IMAP or POP3 server, the Cyrus IMAP software should be removed.Group -
Configure HTTPD-Served Web Content Securely
Running <code>httpd</code> inside a <code>chroot</code> jail is designed to isolate the web server process to a small section of the filesystem, li...Group -
Web Login Banner Verbiage
Enter an appropriate login banner for your organization. Please note that new lines must be expressed by the '\n' character and special characters ...Value -
Configure A Banner Page For Each Website
Configure a login banner for each website when authentication is required for user access.Rule Low Severity -
Each Web Content Directory Must Contain An index.html File
Every <code>DocumentRoot</code> that is configured should have an <code>index.html</code> file that exists. Add an <code>index.html</code> file to ...Rule Low Severity -
Disable Web Content Symbolic Links
For each <code><Directory></code> instance, remove the following: <pre>FollowSymLinks</pre> If symbolic links are allowed, the following can ...Rule High Severity -
Encrypt All File Uploads
Use only secure encrypted logons and connections for uploading files to the web site.Rule High Severity -
Remove .java And .jpp Files
.javaand.jppfiles should not exist and should be removed from the web server.Rule Low Severity -
The robots.txt Files Must Not Exist
Remove any <code>robots.txt</code> files that may exist with any web content. Other methods must be employed if there is information on the web sit...Rule Medium Severity -
Disable Dovecot
If the system does not need to operate as an IMAP or POP3 server, the dovecot software should be disabled and removed.Group
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Modules