Details

Web applications use cookies to track users across requests. These cookies, while typically not sensitive in themselves, connect you to your existing state on the back end system. If an intruder were to capture one of your cookies, they could potentially use the cookie to act as you. Important Web traffic should be encrypted using SSL. This includes important cookies.

In the case of WebSphere Application Server, the most important cookie is the LTPA cookie, and therefore it should be configured to be sent only over SSL.

Solution

From the administrative console, navigate to Security >> Global Security.

Expand ‘Web and SIP security’.

Select ‘Set security cookies to HTTPOnly’.

Click ‘OK’.

Click ‘Save’.

Restart the DMGR and all the JVMs.

Supportive Information

The following resource is also helpful.

• http://iasecontent.disa.mil/stigs/zip/U_IBM_WebSphere_Traditional_V9-x_V1R1_STIG.zip

This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Access Control.This control applies to the following type of system Unix.

References

• 800-53|AC-17(2)
• CAT|II
• CCI|CCI-001453
• Rule-ID|SV-95935r1_rule
• STIG-ID|WBSP-AS-000190
• Vuln-ID|V-81221

Source

• Tenable.com/audits