Closing Security Vulnerabilities on Physical Servers: Step-by-Step Guide

Physical servers provide high-performance hosting solutions but can also introduce security vulnerabilities. In this article, we will explore ways to close security vulnerabilities on physical servers. Our goal is to enhance our system's security through firewall, DDoS protection, and Web Application Firewall (WAF) installations.

Definition of Security Vulnerability

Security vulnerabilities allow systems to be exploited by malware and cyber attacks. On physical servers, such vulnerabilities often arise from misconfigurations or neglected updates.

Step 1: Firewall Installation

First, you should configure your firewall. You can perform a basic firewall installation using iptables. Follow these steps:

• Connect to your server via SSH:

ssh root@your_server_ip

• Install iptables (if not already installed):

apt-get install iptables

• Apply basic iptables rules:

iptables -A INPUT -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -j DROP

• Save the rules:

iptables-save > /etc/iptables/rules.v4

Step 2: DDoS Protection

To protect against DDoS attacks, we can use fail2ban and CSF (ConfigServer Security & Firewall).

• Install fail2ban:

apt-get install fail2ban

• Edit the fail2ban configuration:

nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

[sshd]

enabled = true

port = ssh

filter = sshd

logpath = /var/log/auth.log

maxretry = 5

bantime = 600

• Install CSF:

cd /usr/src

wget https://download.configserver.com/csf.tgz

tar -xzf csf.tgz

cd csf

sh install.sh

• Edit the CSF configuration:

nano /etc/csf/csf.conf

TESTING = "0"

Step 3: WAF Installation

To protect web applications, perform WAF installation. ModSecurity is a popular WAF solution.

• Install ModSecurity for Apache:

apt-get install libapache2-mod-security2

• Edit the ModSecurity configuration file:

nano /etc/modsecurity/modsecurity.conf

SecRuleEngine On

• Restart Apache:

systemctl restart apache2

The above steps provide a basic guide to closing security vulnerabilities on your physical server. By following these steps, you can increase the security of your server and make it more resilient against cyber attacks.