To mitigate the risk of Cross-Site Tracing (XST) on your web server, you need to disable HTTP TRACE requests. XST takes advantage of the TRACE method to potentially expose sensitive information like cookies and authentication tokens. Here’s how you can configure your server based on the type you are using:
1. Apache HTTP Server
If you’re using Apache, you can disable the TRACE method by adding the following configuration in your .htaccess file or the main configuration file (usually httpd.conf or apache2.conf):
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} ^TRACE
RewriteRule .* - [F]
</IfModule>
This configuration checks if the request method is TRACE and returns a forbidden status (403) if it is.
2. Nginx
For Nginx, you can disable TRACE requests by modifying your server block configuration file (usually found in /etc/nginx/sites-available/):
server {
...
if ($request_method = TRACE) {
return 405; # Method Not Allowed
}
...
}
This configuration checks for TRACE requests and responds with a 405 status code, indicating that the method is not allowed.
3. Microsoft IIS
If you're running an IIS server, you can disable the TRACE method through the following steps:
- Open IIS Manager.
- Select your site or server in the Connections pane.
- Double-click on the Request Filtering feature.
- Click on the HTTP Verbs tab.
- In the Actions pane, click Deny Verb.
- Enter TRACE and click OK.
- This will block all TRACE requests to your server.
4. Other Considerations
- Web Application Firewalls (WAF): If you are using a WAF, ensure that it is configured to block TRACE requests as part of its security policies.
- Security Headers: Although not a direct mitigation for XST, implementing security headers like X-Content-Type-Options, X-XSS-Protection, and Content-Security-Policy can help improve your overall security posture.
- Regular Scans: Regularly perform security scans on your web applications to check for vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with security best practices
