The Apache web server must generate a session ID using as much of the character set as possible to reduce the risk of brute force.

From Apache Server 2.4 UNIX Server Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-001188

AS24-U1-000520_rule The Apache web server must generate a session ID using as much of the character set as possible to reduce the risk of brute force.

Vulnerability discussion

Generating a session identifier (ID) that is not easily guessed through brute force is essential to deter several types of session attacks. By knowing the session ID, an attacker can hijack a user session that has already been user-authenticated by the hosted application. The attacker does not need to guess user identifiers and passwords or have a secure token since the user session has already been authenticated.By generating session IDs that contain as much of the character set as possible, i.e., A-Z, a-z, and 0-9, the session ID becomes exponentially harder to guess.

Check content

Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file: # httpd -V | egrep -i 'httpd_root|server_config_file' -D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd" -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf" Verify the "mod_unique_id" is loaded. If it does not exist, this is a finding.

Fix text

Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file: # httpd -V | egrep -i 'httpd_root|server_config_file' -D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd" -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf" Load the "mod_unique_id" module. Restart Apache: apachectl restart

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