{"id":21175,"date":"2019-06-21T23:29:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T20:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/?p=21175"},"modified":"2023-06-06T02:48:07","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T23:48:07","slug":"how-to-configure-apache-web-page-authentication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/how-to-configure-apache-web-page-authentication\/","title":{"rendered":"Configure Apache Web Page Authentication on Ubuntu \/ Debian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can I secure an Apache web page with Password Authentication on Ubuntu \/ Debian web server?. How to use Basic Authentication to limit access to specific web pages on Apache?. After installing and configuring your Apache web server, you may want to configure password authentication for a web page. This guide will cover how to set up a password protected directory using basic authentication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apache web server can be installed on Ubuntu or Debian server\/workstation by running the command below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sudo apt update\nsudo apt -y install apache2<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Confirm that the service is started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$ systemctl status  apache2<\/mark>\n* apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server\n   Loaded: loaded (\/lib\/systemd\/system\/apache2.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)\n  Drop-In: \/lib\/systemd\/system\/apache2.service.d\n           `-apache2-systemd.conf\n   Active: active (running) <\/mark>since Mon 2023-06-05 23:45:36 UTC; 34s ago\n Main PID: 3797 (apache2)\n    Tasks: 55 (limit: 1110)\n   CGroup: \/system.slice\/apache2.service\n           |-3797 \/usr\/sbin\/apache2 -k start\n           |-3799 \/usr\/sbin\/apache2 -k start\n           `-3800 \/usr\/sbin\/apache2 -k start\n\nJun 05 23:45:3 ubuntu-01 systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...\nJun 05 23:45:3 ubuntu-01 apachectl[3771]: AH00558: apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1\nJun 05 23:45:3 ubuntu-01 systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server.<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The following test page should be visible on the server’s IP address\/hostname.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Configure Apache password protected directory using basic authentication.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After installing Apache web server, install Basic Authentication packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt -y install apache2-utils pwauth libapache2-mod-authnz-external <\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Then create Apache website configuration file under \/etc\/apache2\/sites-available<\/strong> directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo tee \/etc\/apache2\/sites-available\/secure-page.conf<<EOF\n<Directory \/var\/www\/html\/secured>\n    AuthType Basic\n    AuthName \"Basic Authentication\"\n    AuthUserFile \/etc\/apache2\/.htpasswd\n    require valid-user\n<\/Directory>\nEOF<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Add users to the Basic Authentication file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$ sudo htpasswd -c \/etc\/apache2\/.htpasswd <\/mark>webuser1<\/mark>\nNew password: \nRe-type new password: \nAdding password for user webuser1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The “-c<\/strong>” option is used to create a file during initial setup. To update file by adding other users, use:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$ sudo htpasswd \/etc\/apache2\/.htpasswd <\/mark>webuser2<\/mark>\nNew password: \nRe-type new password: \nAdding password for user webuser2<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The file with users will have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$ cat \/etc\/apache2\/.htpasswd<\/mark>\nwebuser1:$apr1$nIxlKLgc$xGTv.J1x5wtbJqAfFPt6o1\nwebuser2:$apr1$F4OnyIyv$WImqRIR5BBopTMjqGXs\/c1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Now enable secure website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$ sudo a2ensite secure-page<\/mark>\nEnabling site secure-page.\nTo activate the new configuration, you need to run:\n  systemctl reload apache2<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Create secure website directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo mkdir -p \/var\/www\/html\/secured<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Add content to the directory for testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo tee \/var\/www\/html\/secured\/index.html<<EOF\n<html>\n<body>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; font-size: 50px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;\">\nMy secure web page - Using Basic Auth\n<\/div>\n<\/body>\n<\/html>\nEOF<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Restart Apache service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo systemctl restart apache2<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Test access to the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
When asked for username and password, authenticate with credentials configured earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
We have confirmed basic authentication to be working for accessing a secure web page. The same procedure applies to secure existing web pages on your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recommended Linux Books  to read:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n