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AS24-W1-000380 - The Apache web server must only accept client DOD-approved and RFC 5280-compliant certificates.

Information

A certificate's certification path is the path from the end entity certificate to a trusted root certification authority (CA). Certification path validation is necessary for a relying party to make an informed decision regarding acceptance of an end entity certificate. Certification path validation includes checks such as certificate issuer trust, time validity, and revocation status for each certificate in the certification path. Revocation status information for CA and subject certificates in a certification path is commonly provided via certificate revocation lists (CRLs) or online certificate status protocol (OCSP) responses.

Non-DOD-approved PKIs have not been evaluated to ensure they have security controls and identity vetting procedures in place that are sufficient for DOD systems to rely on the identity asserted in the certificate. PKIs lacking sufficient security controls and identity vetting procedures risk being compromised and issuing certificates that enable adversaries to impersonate legitimate users.

Satisfies: SRG-APP-000175-WSR-000095, SRG-APP-000427-WSR-000186

NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

NOTE: Nessus has provided the target output to assist in reviewing the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Configure the web server's trust store to trust only DOD-approved PKIs (e.g., DOD PKI, DOD ECA, and DOD-approved external partners).

Edit the <'INSTALLED PATH'>\conf\extra\httpd-ssl.conf file.

Find the line 'SSLVerifyDepth' and ensure it is set properly:

SSLVerifyDepth 1

Restart the Apache service.

'SSLVerifyDepth' is set based on the number of CAs that are required in the certificate chain to check before the client certificate is accepted as valid. A setting of '0' would allow self-signed CAs to validate client certificates, which is not desirable in this context.

Additional Information:
https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_ssl.html

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_Apache_Server_2-4_Windows_Y26M04_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION, SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|IA-5(2)(a), 800-53|SC-23(5), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000185, CCI|CCI-002470, Rule-ID|SV-214328r1192941_rule, STIG-ID|AS24-W1-000380, STIG-Legacy|SV-102481, STIG-Legacy|V-92393, Vuln-ID|V-214328

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: d62ca3f74e678d74fae307fe1ceaf3410a3c89327c2119484f7c4693e342ad51