The web server must be protected from being stopped by a non-privileged user.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-55999	SRG-APP-000435-WSR-000147	SV-70253r2_rule		Medium

Description
An attacker has at least two reasons to stop a web server. The first is to cause a DoS, and the second is to put in place changes the attacker made to the web server configuration. To prohibit an attacker from stopping the web server, the process ID (pid) of the web server and the utilities used to start/stop the web server must be protected from access by non-privileged users. By knowing the pid and having access to the web server utilities, a non-privileged user has a greater capability of stopping the server, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Description

An attacker has at least two reasons to stop a web server. The first is to cause a DoS, and the second is to put in place changes the attacker made to the web server configuration. To prohibit an attacker from stopping the web server, the process ID (pid) of the web server and the utilities used to start/stop the web server must be protected from access by non-privileged users. By knowing the pid and having access to the web server utilities, a non-privileged user has a greater capability of stopping the server, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

STIG	Date
Web Server Security Requirements Guide	2015-08-28

Details

Check Text ( C-56569r2_chk )
Review the web server documentation and deployed configuration to determine where the process ID is stored and which utilities are used to start/stop the web server. Determine whether the process ID and the utilities are protected from non-privileged users. If they are not protected, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60877r1_fix)
Remove or modify non-privileged account access to the web server process ID and the utilities used for starting/stopping the web server.