Web Application

How to Secure Your PostgreSQL Database – 5 Tips

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PostgreSQL may be the world’s most advanced open source database, but its 82 documented security vulnerabilities per the CVE database also make it highly exploitable. The popular object-relational database is considered superior to others regarding out-of-the-box security. However, proper measures are still required to protect web applications and underlying data. The following are 5 common ways to secure your PostgreSQL implementation from cyber attacks.

1. Do Not Use Trust Security.

When using Trust security, PostgreSQL assumes that anyone connected to the server is authorized to access the database with the database username specified (i.e., the DB trusts that they are who they say they are). To lock this down, edit your pg_hba.conf to use a non-trust authentication method like MD5. Additionally, template1 and PostgreSQL default databases should be revoked remote login access.

2. Use Hash-Based Column encryption for values that don’t need to be decrypted

Encryption methods such as AES are two-way—they can be decrypted—while hash-based encryption methods such as MD5 are one-way. For values that only need to be checked for a match, such as passwords, use one-way encryption for an added layer of security if table data is compromised.

3. Use Physical Separation to Isolate Datasets that Need to be Kept Apart

Using pg_hba and RBAC to control access to physically disparate databases ensures that data in two tables cannot be accessed/viewed simultaneously. Of course, this will break SQL joins, so only use in appropriate scenarios that require physical access separation during the life of a login session.

4. Consider Disabling Remote Access to PostgreSQL

This action alone eliminates a host of substantial attack vectors. Again, this can be set in the pg_hba.conf. If remote access to the database is required, SSH to the server housing the database and use a local connection afterward. Alternatively, you can set up tunnel access to PostgreSQL through SSH, effectively giving client machines access to remote databases as if they were local.9. Assign a Distinct Role for Each Application.

5. Use pg_hba.conf to Specify Which Hosts Can Use SSL-Encrypted and Unencrypted Connections

This can be accomplished by adding and removing the appropriate entries in the pg_hba.conf file. Generally speaking, all clients should be forced to connect with SSL by adding the necessary hostel entries. Using this model, all host entries should be removed (aside from localhost).

July 29, 2024 by Application Security 0

What are Web Shell Attacks? How to Protect Web Servers
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What is Web Shell?

A web shell is a malicious script written in popular web application languages – PHP, JSP, or ASP. They are installed on a web server operating system to facilitate remote administration. When weaponized, a web shell could allow threat actors to modify files and even access the root directory of the targeted web server. Both internet-facing and non-internet-facing servers (such as resource hosting servers) could fall victim to web shell attacks. Web shell attacks are a convenient cyber attack tactic because their execution doesn’t require additional programs. A communication channel can be simply achieved through the HTTP protocol in web browsers – this is why it’s so important to prefer HTTPS protocols.

How Do Web Shell Attacks Work?

Cyber attackers first locate servers with exposures vulnerable to web shell attacks through scanning software, such as Shodan.io. Shodan surfaces all internet-connected devices, including web servers and endpoints, that could be attack vectors for hidden web servers. Once a vulnerability is discovered, cyberattackers launch a web shell attack before installing a patch for the exposure. Exploiting vulnerability CVE-2020-5902 is an example of how fast cybercriminals use exposures that facilitate web shell injections. On June 30, 2020, F5 Networks released a patch for its Traffic Management User Interface (TMUI). The vulnerability facilitated Remote Code Execution (RCE) – a type of cyber attack involving the remote injection of malicious codes into a targeted system. After publishing the vulnerability on June 30, on July 4 (just four days later), an exploit code used to abuse the exposure was discovered.

CVE-2020-5902 exploit code – Source: Microsoft.com

The first stage of a server infection is to penetrate the outer layer of its ecosystem. This is usually achieved by pushing corrupted web shells through file upload web pages. After this, a Local File Include (LFI) vulnerability connects the web shell to a selected web application page. There are many other web shell injection strategies, including the detection and compromise of Exposed Admin Interfaces, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and SQL injections. After the web shell has been installed, a backdoor is naturally established, giving cybercriminals direct remote access to the compromised web server at any time. The efficiency of back door creation with web shells is why web shell attacks are primarily used as persistence mechanisms – establishing a long-term malicious internal network presence. Because of this, data breaches and ransomware injections rarely immediately follow a web shell attack. Hackers usually establish an access channel for a future attack or reconnaissance mission.

How to Block Web Shell Injections

It’s much easier to address the vulnerabilities that facilitate web shell injection than to intercept attacks. The following suggested controls and security tools should be used to locate and remediate all possible web shell injection points in your IT ecosystem.

1. Stay Updated with the Latest Security Patches

Security vulnerabilities are the most common pathways for web shell attacks. To block these entry points, keep all web applications, Content Management Systems, web server software, and third-party software updated with the latest security patches.

2. Disable Unnecessarily Web Server Functions

If a web shell is injected, its execution could be blocked if the functions that communicate with web server scripts are disabled in php.ini.Such web server functions include:

  • exec ()eval()shell _exec()assert()

3. Modify the Names of Sensitive Directories

To prevent the upload of corrupted image files, the directories that facilitate such uploads should ideally be completely disabled.If such an upload mechanism is necessary, the default names of these sensitive directories should be modified to make them harder to discover. Only privileged users should have permission to access these modifications to mitigate insider threat attacks.In addition to this, specify a filter for the permitted file types that can be uploaded to your web server.

4. Disable All Unnecessary WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins are common attack vectors because anyone can develop them – even cybercriminals. To secure these vectors, only install plugins from trusted developers and uninstall all unnecessary plugins.

5. Implement a Firewall

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is designed to prevent web shells and malicious payloads from being injected into an ecosystem by filtering all network traffic. Like antivirus software, keeping your firewall updated with the latest cybersecurity patches is important.

6. Implement File Integrity Monitoring

A file integrity monitoring solution will compare directory updates against the timestamps of clean directory scripts. If a discrepancy is detected, the requested installation on the code directory of the targeted web server will either be blocked or activate a security alert.

7. Monitor Your Attack Surface

An attack surface monitoring solution completes vulnerability scans of the entire attack surface – both internally and throughout the vendor network. This allows security teams to remediate exposure before cyber attackers discover and exploit them.

March 25, 2024 by Application Security 0

How to Detect Security Incidents Targeting Web Applications
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The two most popular incident response frameworks come from NIST and SANS. While they differ in how they group and name the phases of incident response, both follow the same basic process. Based on this, here are six steps for incident handling in web application security: Prepare, Detect, Contain, Address, Recover, and Learn.

Step 1: Prepare

Preparation is by far the most essential stage of incident response. To secure your web assets, you first need to know what assets you have – and surprisingly, many organizations don’t even know that. Similarly, to ensure data security, you need to know your data, where it resides, who should have access to it, and how critical it is to your business.

Next, you need some kind of risk assessment process so you know what security events and impacts you are preparing for. Depending on your policies and requirements, this could involve formal threat modeling or a more informal approach to threat intelligence and identifying the most likely attack vectors.

In the preparation stage, you will likely identify weaknesses or blind spots you must address. For example, if you use a tool like Netsparker to run asset discovery followed by a vulnerability scan, you may find forgotten or unmaintained websites vulnerable to attack. These issues must be addressed to reduce your attack surface and close all the gaps, so you might call this Step 0: Prevent.

Whatever you put in your incident response plan, you need someone to implement it when things go wrong. Your incident response (IR) team will often simply be your IT security team, though large organizations may have a dedicated computer security incident response team (CSIRT). In either case, you must have specific team members on call and ready to follow established procedures.

Step 2: Detect

Web application attacks and data breaches are often only detected after many days or even months – or not detected at all, especially if they have no direct impact on operations. Careful logging and monitoring at the application level can help detect suspicious activity, such as repeated access attempts or unexpected user accounts being created. You can use a security information and event management (SIEM) solution to coordinate these monitoring efforts. Regular security testing using an accurate and up-to-date web vulnerability scanner is also vital to prevent attacks and find new vulnerabilities that attackers could already have exploited.

Step 3: Contain

After a web security incident is detected, your IR team needs to triage it and decide on the best action to minimize short-term impact and prevent minor issues from escalating into full-blown incidents. For example, suppose you detect a critical vulnerability in one of your business applications being actively exploited. In that case, the containment phase might involve setting up your web application firewall (WAF) to block this attack and prevent further damage. Advanced vulnerability scanners like Netsparker can even integrate with popular WAF platforms automatically.

Step 4: Address

Once the immediate threat is under control, you must fix or permanently address the issue. Continuing the example of your critical vulnerability, your security team would take the vulnerability report and create a fixed ticket for developers after deploying a WAF rule to block attacks in the containment phase. In the case of Netsparker, this process can also be automated to streamline communication and minimize the response time.

Recent global cyberattacks have served as a reminder that plugging security holes is often the easiest part. Advanced threat actors don’t do hit-and-run attacks but rather infiltrate target systems to maintain a stealthy and persistent presence. Eliminating the entry point starts a long and arduous process where your IT security and administrators check all potentially affected systems for malicious code, such as web shells, and then clean or rebuild them.

If you’ve had a data breach, you may also have legal obligations to take care of, such as GDPR-mandated notifications. Depending on the type of data and your jurisdiction and industry, you might need to report the incident to law enforcement or the relevant regulatory bodies and update this notification as more information becomes available.

Step 5: Recover

While most web application security incidents won’t require a full disaster recovery process, you need to have incident recovery procedures in place for every eventuality and every level of the application stack. In IT security, everything is connected, so a web application breach could be just one part of a broader attack that affects other systems or threatens business continuity. Regardless of the incident, the overriding goal of your recovery process should be to restore regular service while minimizing damage and disruption to business operations.

Step 6: Learn

Once the fire is out, you can move to post-incident activities such as a post-mortem or root cause analysis. This phase is probably the most important for improving long-term security since many web attacks are performed by reusing and adapting existing techniques. For example, fixing only a specific injection vulnerability without making the relevant part of the application code more secure may allow attackers to modify the attack payload slightly and breach the application again. By analyzing each incident and drawing the right lessons, you can return to step 1 – and be better prepared for the next attack.

September 8, 2023 by Application Security 0

Directory Traveral

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Also called directory climbing, dot-dot-slash, and backtracking attack, the directory traversal method leverages the way in which an application gets data from the webserver. Generally, Access Control Lists (ACLs) limit user access to specific files within a root directory.

Consider a set of nested folders that follow this order:

  • Root directory: My Very Sensitive Data (MVSD)
  • Inside MVSD folder: Protecting from H@x0rs (PfH) folder
  • Inside PfH folder: My Password is Bad (MPiB) folder
  • Inside MPiB folder: H@x0rs Stole My Info file

Now, you might have an additional set of folders outside that root folder including Pictures, Videos, and Downloads. Unless you have access to each of these other root folders, you can’t access the information they contain.

Web applications organize information the same way, even if you don’t see it. In a directory traversal attack, malicious actors figure out the URL structure that the application uses to request files. Using the hypothetical above, that URL might be:

www.myinsecurewebapp.com/MyPas… “.asp?item=” indicates that this URL pulled the file “H@x0rsStoleMyInfo” from the “My Password is Bad” folder. Now, they know the structure of folders and how to start getting different files.

Using this structure, they add “../” at the end. The “../” indicates moving from one folder to one just above it in the hierarchy. The new request might look like this:

www.myinsecurewebapp.com/MyH@cking.asp?item=../

They keep adding the ../ until they gain access to another file. If they know the name of the file, such as an operating system file name, they might do this:

www.mywebsiteinfo.com/MyPasswordisBad.asp?item=../genericoperatingsystemfile

At this point, they just keep adding more “../” after the equal sign until they get to the folder level and file they want.

June 17, 2023 by Application Security 0

Top 7 SaaS Security Risks
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Contemporary enterprises increasingly embrace cloud technology to harness the operational advantages of delegating essential business functions. A study conducted in 2021 discovered that 90% of the organizations surveyed have integrated cloud computing into their operations, including utilizing services like software-as-a-service (SaaS).

SaaS solutions are pivotal in enabling organizations to attain critical objectives like cost reduction and accelerated time-to-market. Nevertheless, akin to other digital transformation tools, they also introduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

When organizations become customers of third-party vendors, they ultimately place their sensitive data in their hands, relying on a foundation of trust. However, even with this trust in place, if a data breach occurs due to inadequate data security practices by the SaaS provider, the responsibility for such a breach still falls squarely upon the client organization.

This article delineates the seven foremost cybersecurity risks introduced by SaaS solutions and provides insights into how organizations can proactively mitigate these risks to prevent potential data breaches.

Top 3 SaaS Security Risk

Below is a list of the three primary cybersecurity risks your organization should consider when utilizing SaaS services.

  1. Cloud Misconfiguration

Since SaaS environments operate within the public cloud, organizations must remain vigilant regarding the distinct cyber threats associated with cloud applications. One prevalent concern is cloud misconfigurations, which transpire when the SaaS provider or the SaaS customer neglects to properly secure the cloud environment. These lapses in security management leave organizations vulnerable to a multitude of cyber threats, including:

Cloud Leaks, Ransomware, Malware, Phishing, External Hackers, Insider threats

A prevalent misconfiguration in cloud computing involves the granting of overly generous permissions. This misstep transpires when an administrator bestows excessive access rights upon an end-user, leading to a permissions imbalance. Excessive licenses constitute a substantial security risk, frequently allowing cloud leaks, data breaches, and insider threats to manifest.

An illustrious instance of a misconfiguration by a cloud service provider is Amazon Web Services (AWS) default public access settings for S3 buckets. Beyond addressing misconfigurations from the cloud provider, your organization must introspect and enhance its security protocols. Gartner’s prediction that 99% of cloud security failures will be attributable to the customer’s actions by 2025 underscores the critical importance of internal security vigilance.

Another noteworthy example of a significant software misconfiguration is the Microsoft Power Apps Data Leak. Secuirty Researchers identified misconfigured OData APIs within Microsoft’s Power Apps portals. This oversight led to the inadvertent exposure of a staggering 38 million records spread across 47 different organizations.

2. Zero Day Vulnerabilities

A zero-day vulnerability is an unpatched software vulnerability that remains unknown to developers. Cybercriminals can exploit these vulnerabilities through attacks, often causing data breaches and loss across affected organizations.

Zero-day vulnerabilities are particularly damaging when identified in popular SaaS platforms – many organizations could be affected, causing a mass shutdown of operations. For example, Accellion’s file-sharing system, FTA, was compromised in 2020 by web shell attacks and zero-day exploits to exploit an unpatched software vulnerability. The incident was part of a broader supply chain attack that breached the sensitive data of over 100 Accellion customers, resulting in widespread operational disruptions.

Organizations must be able to rapidly identify existing vulnerabilities in their SaaS apps to prevent further security issues from occurring through delayed remediation. 

3. Third Party Risk

SaaS services generate third-party risk – the risk deriving from any third party in an organization’s supply chain. Third parties can pose different levels of risk to an organization’s information security. For example, an organization will likely consider a contracted office janitor a low-level security threat, whereas a SaaS vendor is likely high-risk. 

Most SaaS apps will access or store an organization’s sensitive data, including publicly identifiable information (PII) and other privileged information. Your organization may have strict security measures to mitigate cyber threats, but your protection is only as strong as the weakest link in the supply chain.

Organizations must implement effective third-party risk management programs to consistently monitor and manage the unique cyber risks their SaaS vendors contribute to the attack surface.

June 17, 2023 by Application Security 0

Open Source Security Testing Tools You Can Start Using Today

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In today’s interconnected world, ensuring your digital assets’ security is paramount. As cyber threats continue to evolve, it’s crucial to have effective security testing tools at your disposal. Fortunately, the open-source community offers a wealth of powerful security testing tools to help identify vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the top open-source security testing tools you can use today.

  1. OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy): OWASP ZAP is a popular open-source web application security scanner. It provides a comprehensive set of features for finding vulnerabilities in web applications, including automated scanning, manual testing, and security analysis. ZAP is highly extensible, allowing you to customize and enhance its capabilities according to your specific requirements. It’s an invaluable tool for identifying common web application vulnerabilities like cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, etc.
  2. Nmap (Network Mapper): Nmap is a versatile and powerful open-source network scanning tool for security auditing and network exploration. With its extensive scanning techniques, Nmap can map out hosts, identify open ports, and detect potential vulnerabilities. It supports a scripting engine that enables you to automate tasks and create custom scripts for targeted scanning. Nmap is an essential tool for assessing network security and identifying potential entry points for attackers.
  3. Wireshark: Wireshark is a widely used open-source packet analyzer for network troubleshooting and security analysis. It allows you to capture and examine network traffic at a granular level. Wireshark provides detailed insights into network protocols, allowing you to detect anomalies, analyze network behavior, and identify security threats. Its robust filtering capabilities and extensive protocol support make it an indispensable tool for network security professionals.
  4. Metasploit Framework: The Metasploit Framework is a powerful open-source penetration testing platform that enables you to assess and exploit vulnerabilities in systems and applications. With a vast collection of exploits, payloads, and auxiliary modules, Metasploit simplifies the process of penetration testing and helps security professionals validate the effectiveness of their defenses. It also offers a collaborative community and a wide range of resources for sharing knowledge and expertise.
  5. Nikto is an open-source vulnerability scanner to identify security flaws in web servers and applications. It performs comprehensive tests, including server misconfigurations, outdated software versions, and potentially dangerous files or scripts. Nikto provides detailed scan reports, making prioritizing and remediating identified vulnerabilities easier. Its simple command-line interface and extensive plugin support make it a valuable tool for security testing.

Securing your digital assets requires a proactive and comprehensive approach. By leveraging open-source security testing tools, you can enhance your security posture and protect against potential threats. The tools mentioned in this blog post, including OWASP ZAP, Nmap, Wireshark, Metasploit Framework, and Nikto, offer powerful capabilities to identify vulnerabilities, assess network security, and perform penetration testing. Start exploring these open-source tools today and take a proactive stance in securing your systems and applications. Remember to stay updated with the latest releases and actively participate in the open-source community to maximize the benefits of these valuable resources.

May 18, 2023 by Cyber Security 0

How to Improve MySQL Security: Top 5 Ways
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MySQL RDBMS is esteemed among open-source technologies, a prevalent choice for integrating popular software packages such as WordPress and server stacks like LAMP. As the foundational data platform for numerous websites and cloud services, it is imperative to fortify MySQL security to safeguard your valuable data effectively. To that end, here are 5 essential techniques to bolster your MySQL security posture:

5 Ways to Improve MySQL Security

1. Eliminate the Test Database

The default installation of the MySQL Server package includes a test database accessible to all users. This database represents a prime target for potential attackers. As part of the post-installation hardening process, it is crucial to remove the test database completely.

2. Eradicate Anonymous Accounts

Upon installation, MySQL creates anonymous user accounts that serve no practical purpose. However, these accounts pose a potential vulnerability, offering attackers an entry point into the database. Thus, it is vital to eliminate these anonymous accounts from the system.

3. Alter Default Port Mappings

By default, MySQL operates on port 3306. To enhance security, it is advisable to modify this default port setting. Doing so helps obscure critical services on specific ports, as attackers commonly exploit default configurations. Altering the default port mappings strengthens your defense against such attempts.

4. Disable Remote Logins

If the MySQL database is solely utilized by local applications, it is prudent to disable remote access to the server. This can be achieved by editing the /etc/my.cnf file and adding a “skip-networking” entry under the [mysqld] section. By configuring MySQL to cease listening on all TCP/IP ports, including 127.0.0.1, you confine database access solely to local MySQL socket-based communications.

5. Avoid Running MySQL with Root Level Privileges

MySQL should not be operated directly under the root user account to reinforce security measures. Instead, running MySQL under a dedicated user account specifically created for this purpose is recommended. You benefit from improved auditing and logging capabilities by employing a distinct user account with the appropriate permissions to run the service. Moreover, this practice prevents attackers from gaining unauthorized access by exploiting the root user account.

Implementing these five measures will significantly enhance the security of your MySQL database, reducing the risk of potential breaches and protecting your data with heightened efficiency.

April 28, 2023 by Application Security 0

Difference between Hacker, Developer, and Security Researcher

There is always a misconception about understanding the role of a Hacker, a Programmer, a Developer, and a Security Researcher. We have always been stuck with the quote, “Security is Just an illusion.” So why did we use to write this line everywhere? Such questions might be asked in Interviews or in any IT Department. So Read this article till the end! And Do share when you complete it.

All the applications and software we use, from booting your computer to switching it off, are designed from code. A specific person designs this code. Some know this person as a ‘Programmer‘ while some know this person as a ‘Developer.’ So basically, In this article, we will differentiate between two similar terms #1 would be Programmer vs. Developer, and #2 would be Hacker vs. Security Researcher.

However, the function of all four of them is entirely different. Thus, here we are to clear this doubt once and for all! Below, we have explained the difference between a Programmer, a Developer, a Hacker, and a Security Researcher. So stay tuned to solve any doubt you must have on your part.

As an introduction, you can explain all four categories mathematically as a Venn diagram. For example, consider Programmers to be a Universal Set, and Developers and Hackers are intersecting Subsets of the Universal set of Programmers. This is the mathematical illustration of the introduction of Programmers, Developers, and Hackers.

Programmers & Developers

A programmer is the most skilled coder and has only expertise in a few programming languages. The primary function of a programmer is to write the codes for a smooth and efficient application. Both the Hackers and Developers are Programmers. However, Programmers are not meant to be Hackers or Developers.

Developers create things which is the reason why they are called Developers. A Developer can find ways to identify and solve a problem. Developers manage their applications’ maintainability, performance, robustness, and security.

Hacker

A Hacker is a creative person with expertise in various areas such as computer knowledge, programming, etc. Hackers are required in emergencies and are widely known for their speed. A hacker uses bugs or any other errors to enter a computer system. A Hacker does not makes applications but makes alterations to them to enter its system.

Security Researcher

The rise of cyber-attacks and the origins of new Malware increases the demand for Security Researchers. In short and simple, a Security researcher is the one who used to find Bug, Malware, and Exploits in various web applications and reports them to company owners, and takes a security bounty. Unlike Hackers, as we told you above. Hackers may sell this same data or could be used for wrong associations. Therefore, the scope of Jobs for Security researchers is relatively high in demand.

This is the difference between a Programmer, a Hacker, a Developer, and a security researcher. No need to create any confusion related to these terms. These all terms are integrated. However, if you still have any doubts, let us know in the comments below.

March 3, 2023 by Cyber Security 0

What is Web Application Security?

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Since the commencement of existence, every element was needed to be protected or secured for peace. There is no exception in the aspects that are required to be secured, which includes human beings as well. Human beings face danger and fall victim to crimes in many ways. One of which is cyber crime. In day to day life, we’re all depending on the internet and the applications we use on the internet. These apps can be used to cause harm by any means to its user. Moving forward, a web application is simply an application that is primarily used on a browser to perform a task over the internet, depending on the user’s needs. These applications are created using various techniques and languages with the hope of making it efficient for users to perform a specific task. As we know, every coin has two sides, so does the internet. The internet is home to excellent knowledge and, simultaneously, home to different crimes, often referred to as “cyber crime.” These web applications can be used for cyber crime activities. It could be any activity like stealing money from someone, stealing their identity, corrupting or destroying a computer system, stealing some sensitive data, and so much more. Therefore, it is necessary to secure ourselves from such crimes and prevent them from harming us.

The first thing that pops up in our mind is, “What does web app security/Pentesting mean?”.

Since we all know that nothing in existence is perfect, neither is a computer system nor everything inside it. Web app security refers to the amount of protection or the total layers of protection applied on a web application. Web Application Pentesting means performing various methods or techniques on an application to draw out or highlight its vulnerability or several vulnerabilities to patch those weaknesses up to make that application secure and efficient. Penetration testing (often referred to as “Pentesting”) is a technique of testing various nodes present on the internet to find out the flaws and strengthen them up.
Now we all know what it is. The next thing that we think of is, “Why is Web Application Pentesting necessary/needed?”

Well, the entire existence is flawed regardless of what it is. These flaws can sometimes lead up to something serious, which ends up in human beings’ suffering. The suffering could be either emotional or physical. So, the web applications are no exceptions. The thing that differs from every other flawed entity is that these flaws can be removed and strengthened up. These flaws are necessary to be sealed up because they can be used in a number of ways to harm a user, either virtually or physically. Let’s take up a few instances of how and what various harms can an attacker cause a user using these flaws/vulnerabilities/weaknesses.
Many tools exist that can be used to analyze and a system’s security and find out vulnerabilities that can be used as a path to intrude into a plan to cause destruction. Such tools can be used to secure a network and, at the same time, create a severe threat. These include a vast number of tools like “Metasploit” which is one of the most influential and notorious tools that can be used to withdraw out the flaws and use them as an exploit in a system. Metasploit has over 2000 catalogued vulnerabilities, and even if any 1 of those vulnerabilities is present in a system, then that system is as good as a destroyed one. “John the Ripper” is another tool that is considered one of the fastest password cracking tools and can be used to decrypt your Wi-Fi password, system password, password-protected files, encrypted files, etc. more without much effort. Another one of the most powerful tools is “Maltego,” which can be used for open-source intelligence and digital forensics. An attacker can use this tool to recover all the sensitive data that you’ve deleted or hidden that you didn’t want anyone to get hands-on. An attacker can trace the bits of evidence of that file’s existence and can reach its current location and cause you to harm using those files. There are many more tools that an attacker can use to attack you or the ones close to you in many ways like phishing scams where an attacker can lure you towards using a website or an application that might seem genuine but is not and is used to obtain sensitive information, identity theft scams where an attacker can perform a criminal act and impersonate you while doing that, online harassment where an attacker can harass or harm someone emotionally which might end up in a case of suicide, and so much more threats like these.

February 18, 2023 by Application Security 0

Operating System (OS) command injection

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Some web applications make calls to operating systems so that they can communicate with the operating system or hardware. OS calls include functions like:

  • Process control: monitoring what an application is doing and providing for termination
  • File management: giving the application access to interact with files
  • Device management: requesting or managing hardware like processing power
  • Information maintenance: managing or maintaining information as part of keeping data updated
  • Inter-process communication: coordinating processes for effective operation

Insecure OS command calls allow users to supply invalidated inputs. In other words, the malicious actors can take the OS command call, add an additional query notation, and gain valuable information about how to exploit the application.

July 13, 2022 by Cyber Security 0

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