Citrix XenDesktop 7.x License Server Security Technical Implementation Guide

Without the capability to restrict which roles and individuals can select which events are audited, unauthorized personnel may be able to prevent the auditing of critical events. Misconfigured audits may degrade the system's performance by overwhelming the audit log. Misconfigured audits may also make it more difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate the events relating to an incident, or identify those responsible for one. The list of audited events is the set of events for which audits are to be generated. This set of events is typically a subset of the list of all events for which the system is capable of generating audit records.

Authenticity protection provides protection against man-in-the-middle attacks/session hijacking and the insertion of false information into sessions. Application communication sessions are protected using transport encryption protocols, such as SSL or TLS. SSL/TLS provide web applications with a way to authenticate user sessions and encrypt application traffic. Session authentication can be single (one-way) or mutual (two-way) in nature. Single authentication authenticates the server for the client, whereas mutual authentication provides a means for both the client and the server to authenticate each other. This requirement applies to applications that use communications sessions. This includes but is not limited to web-based applications and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). This requirement addresses communications protection at the application session, versus the network packet, and establishes grounds for confidence at both ends of communications sessions in ongoing identities of other parties and in the validity of information transmitted. Depending on the required degree of confidentiality and integrity, web services/SOA will require the use of SSL/TLS mutual authentication (two-way/bidirectional).

If cached authentication information is out of date, the validity of the authentication information may be questionable.

Without protection of the transmitted information, confidentiality and integrity may be compromised since unprotected communications can be intercepted and read or altered. This requirement applies only to applications that are distributed or can allow access to data non-locally. Use of this requirement will be limited to situations where the data owner has a strict requirement for ensuring data integrity and confidentiality is maintained at every step of the data transfer and handling process. When transmitting data, applications need to leverage transmission protection mechanisms, such as TLS, SSL VPNs, or IPsec. Communication paths outside the physical protection of a controlled boundary are exposed to the possibility of interception and modification. Protecting the confidentiality and integrity of organizational information can be accomplished by physical means (e.g., employing physical distribution systems) or by logical means (e.g., employing cryptographic techniques). If physical means of protection are employed, logical means (cryptography) do not have to be employed, and vice versa.

Information can be unintentionally or maliciously disclosed or modified during reception including, for example, during aggregation, at protocol transformation points, and during packing/unpacking. These unauthorized disclosures or modifications compromise the confidentiality or integrity of the information. This requirement applies only to applications that are distributed or can allow access to data non-locally. Use of this requirement will be limited to situations where the data owner has a strict requirement for ensuring data integrity and confidentiality is maintained at every step of the data transfer and handling process. When receiving data, applications need to leverage protection mechanisms, such as TLS, SSL VPNs, or IPsec.