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Secured connectors must be configured to use strong encryption ciphers.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-222927 TCAT-AS-000020 SV-222927r615938_rule Medium
Description
The Tomcat <Connector> element controls the TLS protocol and the associated ciphers used. If a strong cipher is not selected, an attacker may be able to circumvent encryption protections that are configured for the connector. Strong ciphers must be employed when configuring a secured connector. The configuration attribute and its values depend on what HTTPS implementation the user is utilizing. The user may be utilizing either Java-based implementation aka JSSE — with BIO and NIO connectors, or OpenSSL-based implementation — with APR connector. TLSv1.2 ciphers are configured via the server.xml file on a per connector basis. For a list of approved ciphers, refer to NIST SP 800-52 section 3.3.1.1.
STIG Date
Apache Tomcat Application Sever 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide 2020-12-11

Details

Check Text ( C-24599r426225_chk )
From the Tomcat server console, run the following command:

sudo grep -i ciphers $CATALINA_BASE/conf/server.xml.

Examine each element that is not a redirect to a secure port. Identify the ciphers that are configured on each connector and determine if any of the ciphers are not secure.

For a list of approved ciphers, refer to NIST SP 800-52 section 3.3.1.1.

If insecure ciphers are configured for use, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-24588r426226_fix)
As a privileged user on the Tomcat server, edit the $CATALINA_BASE/conf/server.xml and modify the element.

Add the SSLEnabledProtocols="TLSv1.2" setting to the connector or modify the existing setting.

Set SSLEnabledProtocols="TLSv1.2". Save the server.xml file and restart Tomcat:
sudo systemctl restart tomcat
sudo systemctl reload-daemon