CyberCertPrepWeb App FundamentalsHTTP & Web BasicsEASYFree question
An analyst observes that an application always returns the same 'Server: Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)' header in responses. Why might a security team recommend suppressing or changing this header?
- A.It reveals the operating system distribution and patch level to anyone running a simple curl command against the site
- B.Disclosing the exact server software and version allows attackers to quickly look up known CVEs and tailor exploits to that specific version
- C.It lets automated scanners fingerprint the exact module set and build flags compiled into that Apache release and quickly narrow down worth-trying exploit payloads
- D.It exposes the same version string search engines index and cache letting competitors see the hosting stack and server software a company standardized on
Why B is correct
Verbose Server headers leak the web server's name, version, and OS. Attackers use this information to look up CVE databases for known vulnerabilities in that exact version. Best practice is to suppress or genericize the Server header. In Apache this is done with ServerTokens Prod; in Nginx with server_tokens off.
Know someone studying for Web App Fundamentals? Send them this one.