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V-222933

CAT II (Medium)

Cookies must have http-only flag set.

Rule ID

SV-222933r1137578_rule

STIG

Apache Tomcat Application Server 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V3R4

CCIs

CCI-000213

Discussion

It is possible to steal or manipulate web application session and cookies without having a secure cookie. Configuring the secure flag injects the setting into the response header. The $CATALINA_BASE/conf/web.xml file controls how all applications handle cookies via the <cookie-config> element.

Check Content

From the Tomcat server console, run the following command:

sudo grep -i -B10 -A1 \/cookie-config $CATALINA_BASE/conf/web.xml

If the command returns no results or if the <http-only> element is not set to true, this is a finding.

EXAMPLE:
<session-config>
   <session-timeout>15</session-timeout>
     <cookie-config>
       <http-only>true</http-only>
        <secure>true</secure>
     </cookie-config>
</session-config>

Fix Text

From the Tomcat server console as a privileged user:

edit the $CATALINA_BASE/conf/web.xml

If the cookie-config section does not exist it must be added. Add or modify the <http-only> setting and set to true.

EXAMPLE:
<session-config>
   <session-timeout>15</session-timeout>
     <cookie-config>
       <http-only>true</http-only>
        <secure>true</secure>
     </cookie-config>
</session-config>