The Apache HTTP Server is one of the most stable and secure services that ships with Red Hat Linux. There are an overwhelming number of options and techniques available to secure the Apache HTTP Server. Below is a list of configuration options administrators should be careful using.
FollowSymLinks
This directive is enabled by default, so be careful where you create symbolic links to in the document root of the Apache HTTP Server Web server. For instance, it is a bad idea to provide a symbolic link to /.
The Indexes Directive
This directive is enabled by default, but may not be desirable. If you do not want users to browse files on the server, it is best to remove this directive.
The UserDir Directive
The UserDir directive is disabled by default because it can confirm the presence of a user account on the system. If you wish to enable user directory browsing on the server, use the following directives:
UserDir enabled
UserDir disabled root
These directives activate user directory browsing for all user directories other than /root. If you wish to add users to the list of disabled accounts, add a space delimited list of users on the UserDir disabled line.
Do Not Remove the IncludesNoExec Directive
By default, the server-side includes module cannot execute commands. It is ill advised to change this setting unless you absolutely have to, as it could potentially enable an attacker to execute commands on the system.
Restrict Permissions for Executable Directories
Be certain to only assign write permissions only to the root user for any directory containing scripts or CGIs. This can be accomplished by typing the following commands:
chown root
chmod 755
Also, always verify that any scripts you are running work as intended before putting them into production.
Related Articles on Apache :
Apache Main Server Configuration
Features of Apache HTTP Server 2.0
