Hardening web servers

Web servers are a common infrastructural service in many architectures. They are also often exposed to the Internet (either directly or behind a reverse proxy, which might enable additional security controls) and as such are more vulnerable to attacks than backend services such as database systems.

Web servers can host various types of content, ranging from static websites to dynamic websites, right on to web services that are used in a microservice architecture. Regardless of their application focus, SELinux is ready to support the web server.

Describing the situation

Before embarking on a SELinux configuration and tuning spree, it is wise to describe the situation properly. By looking at the situation and investigating its various requirements, administrators will be able to get a better view of the architecture and make decisions that benefit the secure state of the system. It often pays off to draw the situation as well, as a schematic is often more powerful than...