1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" />
<title>Apache suEXEC Support</title>
</head>
<!-- Background white, links blue (unvisited), navy (visited), red (active) -->
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF"
vlink="#000080" alink="#FF0000">
<div align="CENTER">
<img src="images/sub.gif" alt="[APACHE DOCUMENTATION]" />
<h3>Apache HTTP Server</h3>
</div>
<h1 align="CENTER">Apache suEXEC Support</h1>
<ol>
<li><big><strong>CONTENTS</strong></big></li>
<li><a href="#what">What is suEXEC?</a></li>
<li><a href="#before">Before we begin.</a></li>
<li><a href="#model">suEXEC Security Model.</a></li>
<li><a href="#install">Configuring & Installing
suEXEC</a></li>
<li><a href="#enable">Enabling & Disabling
suEXEC</a></li>
<li><a href="#usage">Using suEXEC</a></li>
<li><a href="#debug">Debugging suEXEC</a></li>
<li><a href="#jabberwock">Beware the Jabberwock: Warnings
& Examples</a></li>
</ol>
<h3><a id="what" name="what">What is suEXEC?</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT">The <strong>suEXEC</strong> feature --
introduced in Apache 1.2 -- provides Apache users the ability
to run <strong>CGI</strong> and <strong>SSI</strong> programs
under user IDs different from the user ID of the calling
web-server. Normally, when a CGI or SSI program executes, it
runs as the same user who is running the web server.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Used properly, this feature can reduce
considerably the security risks involved with allowing users to
develop and run private CGI or SSI programs. However, if suEXEC
is improperly configured, it can cause any number of problems
and possibly create new holes in your computer's security. If
you aren't familiar with managing setuid root programs and the
security issues they present, we highly recommend that you not
consider using suEXEC.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="before" name="before">Before we begin.</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT">Before jumping head-first into this document,
you should be aware of the assumptions made on the part of the
Apache Group and this document.</p>
<p align="LEFT">First, it is assumed that you are using a UNIX
derivate operating system that is capable of
<strong>setuid</strong> and <strong>setgid</strong> operations.
All command examples are given in this regard. Other platforms,
if they are capable of supporting suEXEC, may differ in their
configuration.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Second, it is assumed you are familiar with
some basic concepts of your computer's security and its
administration. This involves an understanding of
<strong>setuid/setgid</strong> operations and the various
effects they may have on your system and its level of
security.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Third, it is assumed that you are using an
<strong>unmodified</strong> version of suEXEC code. All code
for suEXEC has been carefully scrutinized and tested by the
developers as well as numerous beta testers. Every precaution
has been taken to ensure a simple yet solidly safe base of
code. Altering this code can cause unexpected problems and new
security risks. It is <strong>highly</strong> recommended that
you do not alter the suEXEC code unless you are well versed in
the particulars of security programming and are willing to share
your work with the Apache Group for consideration.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Fourth, and last, it has been the decision of
the Apache Group to <strong>NOT</strong> make suEXEC part of
the default installation of Apache. To this end, suEXEC
configuration requires careful attention to details from the
administrator. After due consideration has been given to the
various settings for suEXEC, the administrator may install
suEXEC through normal installation methods. The values for
these settings need to be carefully determined and specified by
the administrator to properly maintain system security during
the use of suEXEC functionality. It is through this detailed
process that the Apache Group hopes to limit suEXEC
installation only to those who are careful and determined
enough to use it.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Still with us? Yes? Good. Let's move on!</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="model" name="model">suEXEC Security Model</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT">Before we begin configuring and installing
suEXEC, we will first discuss the security model you are about
to implement. By doing so, you may better understand what
exactly is going on inside suEXEC and what precautions are
taken to ensure your system's security.</p>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>suEXEC</strong> is based on a setuid
"wrapper" program that is called by the main Apache web server.
This wrapper is called when an HTTP request is made for a CGI
or SSI program that the administrator has designated to run as
a userid other than that of the main server. When such a
request is made, Apache provides the suEXEC wrapper with the
program's name and the user and group IDs under which the
program is to execute.</p>
<p align="LEFT">The wrapper then employs the following process
to determine success or failure -- if any one of these
conditions fail, the program logs the failure and exits with an
error, otherwise it will continue:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Was the wrapper called with the proper number of
arguments?</strong>
<blockquote>
The wrapper will only execute if it is given the proper
number of arguments. The proper argument format is known
to the Apache web server. If the wrapper is not receiving
the proper number of arguments, it is either being
hacked, or there is something wrong with the suEXEC
portion of your Apache binary.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the user executing this wrapper a valid user of
this system?</strong>
<blockquote>
This is to ensure that the user executing the wrapper is
truly a user of the system.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is this valid user allowed to run the
wrapper?</strong>
<blockquote>
Is this user the user allowed to run this wrapper? Only
one user (the Apache user) is allowed to execute this
program.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Does the target program have an unsafe hierarchical
reference?</strong>
<blockquote>
Does the target program contain a leading '/' or have a
'..' backreference? These are not allowed; the target
program must reside within the Apache webspace.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target user name valid?</strong>
<blockquote>
Does the target user exist?
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target group name valid?</strong>
<blockquote>
Does the target group exist?
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target user <em>NOT</em> superuser?</strong>
<blockquote>
Presently, suEXEC does not allow 'root' to execute
CGI/SSI programs.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target userid <em>ABOVE</em> the minimum ID
number?</strong>
<blockquote>
The minimum user ID number is specified during
configuration. This allows you to set the lowest possible
userid that will be allowed to execute CGI/SSI programs.
This is useful to block out "system" accounts.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target group <em>NOT</em> the superuser
group?</strong>
<blockquote>
Presently, suEXEC does not allow the 'root' group to
execute CGI/SSI programs.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target groupid <em>ABOVE</em> the minimum ID
number?</strong>
<blockquote>
The minimum group ID number is specified during
configuration. This allows you to set the lowest possible
groupid that will be allowed to execute CGI/SSI programs.
This is useful to block out "system" groups.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Can the wrapper successfully become the target user
and group?</strong>
<blockquote>
Here is where the program becomes the target user and
group via setuid and setgid calls. The group access list
is also initialized with all of the groups of which the
user is a member.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Does the directory in which the program resides
exist?</strong>
<blockquote>
If it doesn't exist, it can't very well contain files.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the directory within the Apache
webspace?</strong>
<blockquote>
If the request is for a regular portion of the server, is
the requested directory within the server's document
root? If the request is for a UserDir, is the requested
directory within the user's document root?
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the directory <em>NOT</em> writable by anyone
else?</strong>
<blockquote>
We don't want to open up the directory to others; only
the owner user may be able to alter this directories
contents.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Does the target program exist?</strong>
<blockquote>
If it doesn't exists, it can't very well be executed.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target program <em>NOT</em> writable by
anyone else?</strong>
<blockquote>
We don't want to give anyone other than the owner the
ability to change the program.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target program <em>NOT</em> setuid or
setgid?</strong>
<blockquote>
We do not want to execute programs that will then change
our UID/GID again.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Is the target user/group the same as the program's
user/group?</strong>
<blockquote>
Is the user the owner of the file?
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Can we successfully clean the process environment
to ensure safe operations?</strong>
<blockquote>
suEXEC cleans the process' environment by establishing a
safe execution PATH (defined during configuration), as
well as only passing through those variables whose names
are listed in the safe environment list (also created
during configuration).
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Can we successfully become the target program and
execute?</strong>
<blockquote>
Here is where suEXEC ends and the target program begins.
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
<p align="LEFT">This is the standard operation of the
suEXEC wrapper's security model. It is somewhat stringent and
can impose new limitations and guidelines for CGI/SSI design,
but it was developed carefully step-by-step with security in
mind.</p>
<p align="LEFT">For more information as to how this security
model can limit your possibilities in regards to server
configuration, as well as what security risks can be avoided
with a proper suEXEC setup, see the <a
href="#jabberwock">"Beware the Jabberwock"</a> section of this
document.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="install" name="install">Configuring & Installing
suEXEC</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>APACI's suEXEC configuration
options</strong><br />
</p>
<dl>
<dt><code>--enable-suexec</code></dt>
<dd>This option enables the suEXEC feature which is never
installed or activated by default. At least one
--suexec-xxxxx option has to be provided together with the
--enable-suexec option to let APACI accept your request for
using the suEXEC feature.</dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-caller=<em>UID</em></code></dt>
<dd>The <a href="mod/core.html#user">username</a> under which
Apache normally runs. This is the only user allowed to
execute this program.</dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-docroot=<em>DIR</em></code></dt>
<dd>Define as the DocumentRoot set for Apache. This will be
the only hierarchy (aside from UserDirs) that can be used for
suEXEC behavior. The default directory is the --datadir value
with the suffix "/htdocs", <em>e.g.</em> if you configure
with "<code>--datadir=/home/apache</code>" the directory
"/home/apache/htdocs" is used as document root for the suEXEC
wrapper.</dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-logfile=<em>FILE</em></code></dt>
<dd>This defines the filename to which all suEXEC
transactions and errors are logged (useful for auditing and
debugging purposes). By default the logfile is named
"suexec_log" and located in your standard logfile directory
(--logfiledir).</dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-userdir=<em>DIR</em></code></dt>
<dd>Define to be the subdirectory under users' home
directories where suEXEC access should be allowed. All
executables under this directory will be executable by suEXEC
as the user so they should be "safe" programs. If you are
using a "simple" UserDir directive (ie. one without a "*" in
it) this should be set to the same value. suEXEC will not
work properly in cases where the UserDir directive points to
a location that is not the same as the user's home directory
as referenced in the passwd file. Default value is
"public_html".<br />
If you have virtual hosts with a different UserDir for each,
you will need to define them to all reside in one parent
directory; then name that parent directory here. <strong>If
this is not defined properly, "~userdir" cgi requests will
not work!</strong></dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-uidmin=<em>UID</em></code></dt>
<dd>Define this as the lowest UID allowed to be a target user
for suEXEC. For most systems, 500 or 100 is common. Default
value is 100.</dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-gidmin=<em>GID</em></code></dt>
<dd>Define this as the lowest GID allowed to be a target
group for suEXEC. For most systems, 100 is common and
therefore used as default value.</dd>
<dt><code>--suexec-safepath=<em>PATH</em></code></dt>
<dd>Define a safe PATH environment to pass to CGI
executables. Default value is
"/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin".</dd>
</dl>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Checking your suEXEC
setup</strong><br />
Before you compile and install the suEXEC wrapper you can
check the configuration with the --layout option.<br />
Example output:</p>
<pre>
suEXEC setup:
suexec binary: /usr/local/apache/sbin/suexec
document root: /usr/local/apache/share/htdocs
userdir suffix: public_html
logfile: /usr/local/apache/var/log/suexec_log
safe path: /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
caller ID: www
minimum user ID: 100
minimum group ID: 100
</pre>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Compiling and installing the suEXEC
wrapper</strong><br />
If you have enabled the suEXEC feature with the
--enable-suexec option the suexec binary (together with Apache
itself) is automatically built if you execute the command
"make".<br />
After all components have been built you can execute the
command "make install" to install them. The binary image
"suexec" is installed in the directory defined by the --sbindir
option. Default location is
"/usr/local/apache/sbin/suexec".<br />
Please note that you need <strong><em>root
privileges</em></strong> for the installation step. In order
for the wrapper to set the user ID, it must be installed as
owner <code><em>root</em></code> and must have the setuserid
execution bit set for file modes.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="enable" name="enable">Enabling & Disabling
suEXEC</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT">Upon startup of Apache, it looks for the file
"suexec" in the "sbin" directory (default is
"/usr/local/apache/sbin/suexec"). If Apache finds a properly
configured suEXEC wrapper, it will print the following message
to the error log:</p>
<pre>
[notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: <em>/path/to/suexec</em>)
</pre>
<p>If you don't see this message at server startup, the server
is most likely not finding the wrapper program where it expects
it, or the executable is not installed <em>setuid
root</em>.<br />
If you want to enable the suEXEC mechanism for the first time
and an Apache server is already running you must kill and
restart Apache. Restarting it with a simple HUP or USR1 signal
will not be enough.<br />
If you want to disable suEXEC you should kill and restart
Apache after you have removed the "suexec" file.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="usage" name="usage">Using suEXEC</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Virtual Hosts:</strong><br />
One way to use the suEXEC wrapper is through the <a
href="mod/core.html#user">User</a> and <a
href="mod/core.html#group">Group</a> directives in <a
href="mod/core.html#virtualhost">VirtualHost</a> definitions.
By setting these directives to values different from the main
server user ID, all requests for CGI resources will be executed
as the <em>User</em> and <em>Group</em> defined for that
<code><VirtualHost></code>. If only one or neither of
these directives are specified for a
<code><VirtualHost></code> then the main server userid is
assumed.</p>
<p><strong>User directories:</strong><br />
The suEXEC wrapper can also be used to execute CGI programs as
the user to which the request is being directed. This is
accomplished by using the "<strong><code>~</code></strong>"
character prefixing the user ID for whom execution is desired.
The only requirement needed for this feature to work is for CGI
execution to be enabled for the user and that the script must
meet the scrutiny of the <a href="#model">security checks</a>
above.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="debug" name="debug">Debugging suEXEC</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT">The suEXEC wrapper will write log information
to the file defined with the --suexec-logfile option as
indicated above. If you feel you have configured and installed
the wrapper properly, have a look at this log and the error_log
for the server to see where you may have gone astray.</p>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<h3><a id="jabberwock" name="jabberwock">Beware the Jabberwock:
Warnings & Examples</a></h3>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>NOTE!</strong> This section may not be
complete. For the latest revision of this section of the
documentation, see the Apache Group's <a
href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/suexec.html">Online
Documentation</a> version.</p>
<p align="LEFT">There are a few points of interest regarding
the wrapper that can cause limitations on server setup. Please
review these before submitting any "bugs" regarding suEXEC.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>suEXEC Points Of Interest</strong></li>
<li>
Hierarchy limitations
<blockquote>
For security and efficiency reasons, all suexec requests
must remain within either a top-level document root for
virtual host requests, or one top-level personal document
root for userdir requests. For example, if you have four
VirtualHosts configured, you would need to structure all
of your VHosts' document roots off of one main Apache
document hierarchy to take advantage of suEXEC for
VirtualHosts. (Example forthcoming.)
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
suEXEC's PATH environment variable
<blockquote>
This can be a dangerous thing to change. Make certain
every path you include in this define is a
<strong>trusted</strong> directory. You don't want to
open people up to having someone from across the world
running a trojan horse on them.
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
Altering the suEXEC code
<blockquote>
Again, this can cause <strong>Big Trouble</strong> if you
try this without knowing what you are doing. Stay away
from it if at all possible.
</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="CENTER"><strong><a href="suexec.html">BACK TO
CONTENTS</a></strong></p>
<hr />
<h3 align="CENTER">Apache HTTP Server</h3>
<a href="./"><img src="images/index.gif" alt="Index" /></a>
</body>
</html>
|
