Chrooting Apache

The chroot daemon allows you to run a program and have it see a given directory as the root (/) directory. This effectively locks the process into its very own filesystem ("chroot jail") isolated from the real / filesystem. In this article we will look at how to install the Apache Web server in such an environment. Installing Apache in a chroot jail does not make Apache itself any more secure. Rather, it serves to restrict the access of Apache and its child processes to a small subset of the filesystem. The advantage in chrooting a process is not in preventing a breakin, but rather in containing a potential threat.

Before deciding whether you need to chroot your Web server you should consider the advantages and disadvantages of such a setup.

Read Full Story