Only authenticated system administrators or the designated PKI Sponsor for the Apache web server must have access to the Apache web server private key.

From Apache Server 2.4 UNIX Server Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000186

AS24-U1-000390_rule Only authenticated system administrators or the designated PKI Sponsor for the Apache web server must have access to the Apache web server private key.

Vulnerability discussion

The web server's private key is used to prove the identity of the server to clients and securely exchange the shared secret key used to encrypt communications between the web server and clients.By gaining access to the private key, an attacker can pretend to be an authorized server and decrypt the SSL traffic between a client and the web server.

Check content

Review the private key path in the SSLCertificateFile directive. Verify that only authenticated system administrators and the designated PKI Sponsor for the web server can access the web server private key. If the private key is accessible by unauthenticated or unauthorized users, this is a finding.

Fix text

Configure the Apache web server to ensure that only authenticated and authorized users can access the web server's private key.

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