Some hints and tips on security issues in setting up a web server. Some of the suggestions will be general, other, specific to Apache
Server side includes (SSI) can be configured so that users can execute arbitrary programs on the server. That thought alone should send a shiver down the spine of any sys-admin.
One solution is to disable that part of SSI. To do that you use the IncludesNOEXEC option to the Options directive.
Allowing users to execute CGI scripts in any directory should only be considered if;
Limiting CGI to special directories gives the admin control over what goes into those directories. This is inevitably more secure than non script aliased CGI, but only if users with write access to the directories are trusted or the admin is willing to test each new CGI script/program for potential security holes.
Most sites choose this option over the non script aliased CGI approach.
Always remember that you must trust the writers of the CGI script/programs or your ability to spot potential security holes in CGI, whether they were deliberate or accidental.
All the CGI scripts will run as the same user, so they have potential to conflict (accidentally or deliberately) with other scripts e.g. User A hates User B, so he writes a script to trash User B's CGI database.
To run a really tight ship, you'll want to stop users from setting
up .htaccess
files which can override security features
you've configured. Here's one way to do it...
In the server configuration file, put
<Directory>
AllowOverride None
Options None
<Limit GET PUT POST>
allow from all
</Limit>
</Directory>
Then setup for specific directoriesThis stops all overrides, Includes and accesses in all directories apart from those named.