The Apache web server must set an absolute timeout for sessions.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-214295	SRG-APP-000295-WSR-000012	AS24-U2-000650	SV-214295r1043182_rule	2025-02-12	2

Description
Leaving sessions open indefinitely is a major security risk. An attacker can easily use an already authenticated session to access the hosted application as the previously authenticated user. By closing sessions after an absolute period of time, the user is forced to reauthenticate, guaranteeing the session is still in use. Enabling an absolute timeout for sessions closes sessions that are still active. Examples would be a runaway process accessing the Apache web server or an attacker using a hijacked session to slowly probe the Apache web server.

Description

Leaving sessions open indefinitely is a major security risk. An attacker can easily use an already authenticated session to access the hosted application as the previously authenticated user. By closing sessions after an absolute period of time, the user is forced to reauthenticate, guaranteeing the session is still in use. Enabling an absolute timeout for sessions closes sessions that are still active. Examples would be a runaway process accessing the Apache web server or an attacker using a hijacked session to slowly probe the Apache web server.

ℹ️ Check
Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file: # apachectl -V \| egrep -i 'httpd_root\|server_config_file' -D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd" -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf" Note: The apachectl front end is the preferred method for locating the Apache httpd file. For some Linux distributions "apache2ctl -V" or "httpd -V" can also be used. Verify the "SessionMaxAge" directive exists and is set to "600". If the "SessionMaxAge" directive does not exist or is commented out, this is a finding. If the "SessionMaxAge" directive exists but is not set to "600", this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file: # apachectl -V | egrep -i 'httpd_root|server_config_file' -D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd" -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf" Note: The apachectl front end is the preferred method for locating the Apache httpd file. For some Linux distributions "apache2ctl -V" or "httpd -V" can also be used. Verify the "SessionMaxAge" directive exists and is set to "600". If the "SessionMaxAge" directive does not exist or is commented out, this is a finding. If the "SessionMaxAge" directive exists but is not set to "600", this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Determine the location of the "HTTPD_ROOT" directory and the "httpd.conf" file: # apachectl -V \| egrep -i 'httpd_root\|server_config_file' -D HTTPD_ROOT="/etc/httpd" -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf" Add or set the "SessionMaxAge" directive to "600".