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DVWA Deployment

1. Prerequisites​

VM Specifications:​

  • OS: Ubuntu 20.04/22.04
  • CPU: 1+ vCPU
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Disk: 100 GB
  • Network: Public IP
  • Firewall: Open ports 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), and 22 (SSH)

Software Requirements:​

  • Apache2
  • MariaDB 10.3+ / MySQL 5.7+
  • PHP 7.4+ or 8.0+ (with php-mysqli, php-gd, php-json extensions)
  • Git

Domain and DNS:​

  • Registered domain (e.g., dvwa.example.com)
  • Access to DNS settings for A record configuration

2. Deployment Steps​

Step 1: Server Setup​

Update System Packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Required Packages:

sudo apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server php php-mysqli php-gd php-json libapache2-mod-php

Verify PHP Version Ensure PHP version higher than 7.4 is installed.

php -v

Step 2: Database Configuration​

Secure the Database:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to set a root password and configure the default configuration.

Create a new database and user for DVWA:

Create Database and User:

CREATE DATABASE dvwa;
CREATE USER 'dvwa_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'YourSecurePassword123!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON dvwa.* TO 'dvwa_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Copy and paste the above SQL command into the command window. Then, change the database name, user, and password to your preferred values.

Step 3: DVWA Installation​

Clone DVWA Repository:

cd /var/www/html
sudo git clone https://github.com/digininja/DVWA.git
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data DVWA

Update file ownership to the web server user.

Configure DVWA:

sudo cp /var/www/html/DVWA/config/config.inc.php.dist /var/www/html/DVWA/config/config.inc.php
sudo nano /var/www/html/DVWA/config/config.inc.php

Update the following parameters. You have to replace the database, user and password if you edited the SQL command with your preferred value in step 2:

$_DVWA['db_server'] = 'localhost';
$_DVWA['db_user'] = 'dvwa_user';
$_DVWA['db_password'] = 'YourSecurePassword123!';
$_DVWA['db_database'] = 'dvwa';

Copy the sample configuration file and edit the database credentials.

Step 4: Domain and Apache Configuration​

Create a DNS A record pointing to the VM's public IP. In your domain registrar's dashboard (e.g., Cloudflare, GoDaddy), add an A Record:

  • Name: dvwa (to create dvwa.example.com)
  • Value: Your VM's public IP
  • TTL: 3600 (default)

Configure the Apache virtual host:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/dvwa.conf

Add the following:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName dvwa.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/DVWA
    
    <Directory /var/www/html/DVWA>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dvwa_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dvwa_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and restart Apache:

sudo a2ensite dvwa.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 5: Finalise Installation​

  1. Access DVWA at http://dvwa.example.com (replace with your domain).
  2. Login with:
    • Username: admin
    • Password: password
  3. Click Create/Reset Database to initialise tables.