AS24-U2-000650 - The Apache web server must set an absolute timeout for sessions.

Information

Leaving sessions open indefinitely is a major security risk. An attacker can easily use an already authenticated session to access the hosted application as the previously authenticated user. By closing sessions after an absolute period of time, the user is forced to reauthenticate, guaranteeing the session is still in use. Enabling an absolute timeout for sessions closes sessions that are still active. Examples would be a runaway process accessing the Apache web server or an attacker using a hijacked session to slowly probe the Apache web server.

Solution

Determine the location of the 'HTTPD_ROOT' directory and the 'httpd.conf' file:

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

Add or set the 'SessionMaxAge' directive to '600'.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_Apache_Server_2-4_Unix_Y24M07_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-5(3)(b), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-002391, Rule-ID|SV-214295r881507_rule, STIG-ID|AS24-U2-000650, STIG-Legacy|SV-102897, STIG-Legacy|V-92809, Vuln-ID|V-214295

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 841ab5f777367eb5482cc7f8610250be28580d7c679f3c0b93a3a8d38996bc8f