VCST-70-000030 - The Security Token Service must set the secure flag for cookies.

Information

The secure flag is an option that can be set by the application server when sending a new cookie to the user within an HTTP Response. The purpose of the secure flag is to prevent cookies from being observed by unauthorized parties due to the transmission of the cookie in clear text.

By setting the secure flag, the browser will prevent the transmission of a cookie over an unencrypted channel. The Security Token Service is configured to only be accessible over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) tunnel, but this cookie flag is still a recommended best practice.

Solution

Navigate to and open:

/usr/lib/vmware-sso/vmware-sts/conf/web.xml

Navigate to the /<web-apps>/<session-config>/<cookie-config> node and configure it as follows:

<cookie-config>
<http-only>true</http-only>
<secure>true</secure>
</cookie-config>

Restart the service with the following command:

# vmon-cli --restart sts

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_VMW_vSphere_7-0_Y23M07_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-8, CAT|II, CCI|CCI-002418, Rule-ID|SV-256773r889289_rule, STIG-ID|VCST-70-000030, Vuln-ID|V-256773

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 21ca8a2dd4f81e55b24dc98db78ae8cb4c76a9355dceed73130cbcb5597ffb7c