Apache HTTP Server
TMA-APACHE-3.1
Ensure the Apache Web Server Runs As a Non-Root User
Description
Although Apache is typically started with root privileges in order to listen on port 80 and 443, it can and should run as another non-root user in order to perform the web services. The Apache User and Group directives are used to designate the user and group that the Apache worker processes will assume. The User directive (Debian ${APACHE_RUN_USER} is resolved from /etc/apache2/envvars) must name a non-root system account with a UID below UID_MIN from /etc/login.defs. Reads the main configuration (APACHE_CONF overrides; default /etc/apache2/apache2.conf, /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf or /usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf) and every Include/IncludeOptional file.
How it is checked
Audit method: Shell command
c=${APACHE_CONF:-}; if [ -z "$c" ]; then for f in /etc/apache2/apache2.conf /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf /usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf /etc/apache2/httpd.conf; do [ -f "$f" ] && { c=$f; break; }; done; fi; [ -r "$c" ] || exit 1; R=$(awk 'tolower($1)=="serverroot"{v=$2; gsub(/"/,"",v); print v; exit}' "$c"); [ -n "$R" ] || R=$(dirname "$c"); shopt -s nocasematch; inc(){ local p g l; [ ${#FUNCNAME[@]} -lt 16 ] || return 0; p=$1; case $p in /*) ;; *) p=$R/$p;; esac; [ -d "$p" ] && p="$p/*"; for g in $p; do [ -f "$g" ] || continue; while IFS= read -r l || [ -n "$l" ]; do if [[ $l =~ ^[[:space:]]*include(optional)?[[:space:]]+\"?([^\"[:space:]]+) ]]; then inc "${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"; else printf '%s\n' "$l"; fi; done < "$g"; done; }; cfg=$(inc "$c" | sed -e 's/^[[:space:]]*//' -e '/^#/d' -e '/^$/d'); shopt -u nocasematch; ev(){ case $1 in '${'*'}') local n=${1#??}; n=${n%?}; local v; v=$(sed -n "s/^[[:space:]]*export[[:space:]]*$n=//p" "${APACHE_ENVVARS:-/etc/apache2/envvars}" 2>/dev/null | tail -n1 | tr -d "\"'"); printf '%s\n' "${v:-$1}";; *) printf '%s\n' "$1";; esac; }; u=$(ev "$(printf '%s\n' "$cfg" | awk 'tolower($1)=="user"{v=$2} END{print v}')"); [ -n "$u" ] && [ "${u#\$}" = "$u" ] || { echo noncompliant; exit 0; }; id=$(id -u "$u" 2>/dev/null) || { echo noncompliant; exit 0; }; mn=$(awk '$1=="UID_MIN"{print $2}' /etc/login.defs 2>/dev/null); [ "$id" != 0 ] && [ "$id" -lt "${mn:-1000}" ] && echo compliant || echo noncompliant- Expected output
compliant
How it is fixed
Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch
Create a system account (groupadd -r apache; useradd apache -r -g apache -d /var/www -s /sbin/nologin) and set User apache / Group apache in the main configuration. Then run apachectl configtest and reload Apache.
Properties
- Operating systems
- Any
- Tags
- apacheaccounts
- Reference
- CIS Apache HTTP Server 2.4 Benchmark v2.4.0 - 3.1 Ensure the Apache Web Server Runs As a Non-Root User
Check this host
Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.
tmaegis scan --target apache