| With more than 67% of web servers running Apache and web-based attacks becoming more and more prevalent, web security has become a critical area for web site managers. Most existing tools work on the TCP/IP level, failing to use the specifics of the HTTP protocol in their operation. Mod_security is a module running on Apache, which will help you overcome the security threats prevalent in the online world.
A complete guide to using ModSecurity, this book will show you how to secure your web application and server, and does so by using real-world examples of attacks currently in use. It will help you learn about SQL injection, cross-site scripting attacks, cross-site request forgeries, null byte attacks, and many more so that you know how attackers operate.
Using clear, step-by-step instructions this book starts by teaching you how to install and set up ModSecurity, before diving into the rule language with examples. It assumes no prior knowledge of ModSecurity, so as long as you are familiar with basic Linux administration, you can start to learn right away.
Real-life case studies are used to illustrate the dangers on the Web today - you will for example learn how the recent worm that hit Twitter works, and how you could have used ModSecurity to stop it in its tracks. The mechanisms behind these and other attacks are described in detail, and you will learn everything you need to know to make sure your server and web application remain unscathed on the increasingly dangerous web. Have you ever wondered how attackers figure out the exact web server version running on a system? They use a technique called HTTP fingerprinting, and you will learn about this in depth and how to defend against it by flying your web server under a "false flag".
The last part of the book shows you how to really lock down a web application by implementing a positive security model that only allows through requests that conform to a specific, pre-approved model, and denying anything that is even the slightest bit out of line.
What you will learn from this book?
- Compile ModSecurity from source and install it on a Linux system
- Log any anomalous event and use the ModSecurity console to view log data online so that attempted break-ins can be quickly discovered and dealt with
- Learn how a recent worm disabled Twitter and how it could have been stopped using ModSecurity
- Guard against web site defacement by having ModSecurity scan for unauthorized changes to your web pages then alert you about issues via email.
- Locate the geographical position of an attacker using ModSecurity applications
- Know how attackers operate by learning about SQL injection, cross-site scripting attacks, cross-site request forgeries, null byte attacks, and many more
- Put Apache in a chroot jail using ModSecurity - no more frustrating hours of tinkering to get everything working as it should
- Prevent HTTP fingerprinting by flying your Apache server under a false flag
- Protect against newly discovered vulnerabilities that don't have a vendor-supplied patch, using ModSecurity "just-in-time" patching
- Prevent the source code of your web application being shown to the world if something goes wrong with your server configuration
- Discover the real IP address of an attacker using ModSecurity, even if the attacker is behind a proxy server
Approach
This book teaches ModSecurity from the beginning to anyone with basic Linux skills. It starts by focusing on introducing ModSecurity, and explaining the concept of ModSecurity rules and how to write them. Later, it looks at the performance of ModSecurity and what sort of impact ModSecurity has on the speed of your web application.
Who this book is written for?
This book is written for system administrators or anyone running an Apache web server who wants to learn how to secure that server. It assumes that you are familiar with using the Linux shell and command-line tools, but does its best to explain everything so that those who are not Linux experts can make full use of ModSecurity.
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