Apache fixes “Apache Killer” bug

The Apache Software Foundation has released version 2.2.20 of the Apache HTTP Server, which includes a fix for the DDoS bug that was spotted being exploited in the wild through the “Apache Killer” tool nearly a week ago.

“We consider this release to be the best version of Apache available, and encourage users of all prior versions to upgrade,” says in the announcement of the release.

The fix restricts the use of memory when the Apache HTTP Server handles byte-range requests, in order to avoid denial of service.

As the Foundation no longer supports the 1.3 line – which is also vulnerable to the bug – all Apache web administrators are urged to upgrade to the new version. If, for whatever reason, they don’t want to do that, mitigation steps are still available here.