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The Apache web server must generate a session ID using as much of the character set as possible to reduce the risk of brute force.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-214253 AS24-U1-000520 SV-214253r505935_rule High
Description
Generating a session identifier (ID) that is not easily guessed through brute force is essential to deter several types of session attacks. By knowing the session ID, an attacker can hijack a user session that has already been user-authenticated by the hosted application. The attacker does not need to guess user identifiers and passwords or have a secure token since the user session has already been authenticated. By generating session IDs that contain as much of the character set as possible, i.e., A-Z, a-z, and 0-9, the session ID becomes exponentially harder to guess. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000223-WSR-000145, SRG-APP-000224-WSR-000135, SRG-APP-000224-WSR-000136, SRG-APP-000224-WSR-000138
STIG Date
Apache Server 2.4 UNIX Server Security Technical Implementation Guide 2020-09-25

Details

Check Text ( C-15467r277019_chk )
Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file:

# httpd -V | egrep -i 'httpd_root|server_config_file'
-D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd"
-D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf"

Verify the "unique_id_module" is loaded:

run httpd -M | grep unique_id
If no unique_id is returned, open finding.
Fix Text (F-15465r277020_fix)
Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file:

# httpd -V | egrep -i 'httpd_root|server_config_file'
-D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd"
-D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf"

Load the "unique_id_module".

Example: LoadModule unique_id_module modules/mod_unique_id.so

Restart Apache: apachectl restart