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Disable Server Side Includes

An XCCDF Rule

Description

Server Side Includes provide a method of dynamically generating web pages through the insertion of server-side code. However, the technology is also deprecated and introduces significant security concerns. If this functionality is unnecessary, comment out the related module:

#LoadModule include_module modules/mod_include.so
If there is a critical need for Server Side Includes, they should be enabled with the option IncludesNoExec to prevent arbitrary code execution. Additionally, user supplied data should be encoded to prevent cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.

Rationale

Minimizing the number of loadable modules available to the web server reduces risk by limiting the capabilities allowed by the web server.

ID
xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_rule_httpd_server_side_includes
Severity
Unknown
Updated