cis-apache-12-1

name	cis-apache-12.1
description	Ensure the AppArmor Framework Is Enabled
category	cis-apache
version	3.6.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","apache","linux","apparmor","mandatory-access-control","mac"]
cis_id	12.1
cis_benchmark	CIS Apache HTTP Server 2.2 Benchmark v3.6.0
tech_stack	["linux","apache"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

Ensure the AppArmor Framework Is Enabled

Description

AppArmor is a Linux kernel security module that provides a named based mandatory access control with security policies. AppArmor can enforce rules on programs for file access and network connections and restrict actions based on defined policies.

Rationale

Web applications and web services continue to be one of the leading attack vectors for criminals to gain access to information and servers. The threat is high because web servers are often externally accessible and typically have the greatest share of server-side vulnerabilities. The AppArmor mandatory access controls provide a much stronger security model which can be used to implement a deny-by-default model only allowing what is explicitly permitted.

Impact

None documented

Audit Procedure

Perform the following steps to determine if the recommended state is implemented:

Use the aa-status command with the --enabled option to check that AppArmor is enabled. If AppArmor is enabled, the command will return a zero (0) exit code for success. The &&echo Enabled is added to the command below to provide positive feedback. If no text is echoed, AppArmor is not enabled.

# aa-status --enabled && echo Enabled
Enabled

Remediation

Perform the following to implement the recommended state:

• If the aa-status command is not found, then the AppArmor package is not installed and needs to be installed using the appropriate Linux distribution package management. For example:

# apt-get install apparmor
# apt-get install libapache2-mod-apparmor

• To enable the AppArmor framework, run the init.d script as shown below.

# /etc/init.d/apparmor start

Default Value

AppArmor is enabled by default.

References

1. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AppArmor

CIS Controls

Version 6

2.2 Deploy Application Whitelisting Deploy application whitelisting technology that allows systems to run software only if it is included on the whitelist and prevents execution of all other software on the system. The whitelist may be very expansive (as is available from commercial whitelist vendors), so that users are not inconvenienced when using common software. Or, for some special-purpose systems (which require only a small number of programs to achieve their needed business functionality), the whitelist may be quite narrow.