Error handling security considerations for the DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WAS
The overall security level of the DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WebSphere Application Server is partially determined by the choices made regarding the handling of custom errors.
We can define a custom error page for each error code or a group of error codes on errors generated by the proxy server or the application server. This is done using HTTP status codes in responses to generate uniform customized error pages for the application. For security reasons, we can ensure that the error pages are read from the local file system instead of being forwarded to a custom remote application. Choosing this option limits the code path and eliminates the need for a potentially unauthorized application to be run as the error message is generated based on a flat file. For more information about the error handling for the secured proxy server, see Overview of the custom error page policy.
The following security level settings are used when evaluating a custom security level. Local error page handling is used for all of the predefined security levels.
Error page handling Definition Local error page handling This is considered a high security level setting. Remote error page handling This is considered a medium and low security level setting.
Related:
WebSphere DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WAS DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WAS start up user permissions DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WAS routing considerations DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WAS administration options Tune the security properties for the DMZ Secure Proxy Server for IBM WAS ProxyManagement