The BEAST (Browser Exploit Against SSL/TLS) vulnerability primarily targets TLS 1.0 and earlier protocol versions. Modern security standards recommend disabling TLS 1.0 and enabling TLS 1.1+ to maintain secure communications while preventing known exploits.

First, verify your current Apache SSL configuration with:

openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1_1
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1_2

This will show which protocols are currently enabled.

Edit your Apache SSL configuration (typically in /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf or /etc/apache2/mods-available/ssl.conf):

SSLProtocol all -SSLv2 -SSLv3 -TLSv1
SSLHonorCipherOrder on
SSLCipherSuite "EECDH+AESGCM:EDH+AESGCM:AES256+EECDH:AES256+EDH"

For optimal security with TLS 1.1/1.2, use this recommended cipher suite:

SSLCipherSuite HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5:!RC4:!CAMELLIA:!DES:!3DES:!DSS:!EXP:!ECDSA:!kECDH:!PSK:!SRP:!KRB5
SSLProxyCipherSuite HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5:!RC4:!CAMELLIA:!DES:!3DES:!DSS:!EXP:!ECDSA:!kECDH:!PSK:!SRP:!KRB5

After restarting Apache (systemctl restart apache2 or apachectl restart), verify with:

nmap --script ssl-enum-ciphers -p 443 yourdomain.com

Or use online tools like SSL Labs' SSL Test for comprehensive verification.

TLS 1.2 with modern ciphers may impact performance. Consider enabling OCSP Stapling to improve handshake speed:

SSLUseStapling on
SSLStaplingCache "shmcb:logs/stapling-cache(150000)"

For legacy client support, you might need to create a separate virtual host with older protocols:

<VirtualHost *:8443>
    SSLProtocol +TLSv1
    SSLCipherSuite "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA"
    # Other legacy configurations
</VirtualHost>

The BEAST (Browser Exploit Against SSL/TLS) vulnerability exposed critical weaknesses in SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0, making protocol upgrades mandatory for production systems. Modern best practices require enforcing TLS 1.1+ with OpenSSL 1.0.1+ and Apache 2.4+ configurations.

# Check installed OpenSSL version
openssl version -a

# Sample output showing TLS 1.2 support:
# OpenSSL 1.1.1g  21 Apr 2020
# Built on: Wed Apr 21 13:33:42 2021 UTC
# Options: bn(64,64) ...
# TLSv1/SSLv3, TLSv1.1, TLSv1.2

Modify your virtual host configuration (typically in /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf):

<VirtualHost *:443>
    SSLEngine on
    SSLProtocol -all +TLSv1.1 +TLSv1.2
    SSLCipherSuite HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5:!RC4:!3DES
    SSLHonorCipherOrder on
    
    # Certificate paths (example)
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/your_domain.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/your_domain.key
    SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/ssl/certs/chain.crt
</VirtualHost>

Modern best practices recommend these cipher suites for balancing security and compatibility:

SSLCipherSuite ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256

After implementing changes, verify your configuration:

# Syntax check
apachectl configtest

# Restart Apache
systemctl restart apache2

# Test with OpenSSL client
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1_1
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -tls1_2

Use these tools for comprehensive validation:

• Qualys SSL Labs Test (https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/)
• testssl.sh (command-line tool)
• Mozilla SSL Configuration Generator

TLS 1.2 introduces some overhead compared to older protocols. Monitor these metrics:

# Show SSL/TLS statistics
apachectl -t -D DUMP_MODULES | grep ssl
watch -n 1 "netstat -anp | grep ':443' | awk '{print \$5}' | cut -d: -f1 | sort | uniq -c | sort -n"

For legacy system compatibility during transition, implement this phased approach:

1. First enable both TLS 1.0 and 1.1/1.2
2. Monitor traffic patterns with mod_logio
3. After 30-60 days, disable TLS 1.0 if no legacy clients remain