Based on the OWASP Top 10, I think injection is the biggest risk facing web applications today. The risks of a successful injection attack may include information disclosure, such as login credentials and other sensitive data to the attacker. SQL injections are considered one of the most dangerous web application vulnerabilities. The attacker can inject code via text input fields to force the web server to do what they want.
The most serious attacks against web applications are those that can disclose sensitive data or gain unlimited access to the back-end system running the application. This kind of high-profile attack often occurs, but for many organizations, any attack that causes system interruption is a major event. Through the implementation of application-level denial of service attacks, we can achieve the same purpose as the traditional resource exhaustion attack against infrastructure. However, the implementation of these attacks usually requires more sophisticated operations, and mainly for specific targets. For example, these attacks can be used to destroy specific users or services, to gain a competitive advantage in the fields of Finance and trade, gambling, online bidding, and booking tickets.
Hi everyone!
I do agree with Priyanka on this one. I think sql injection is one of the biggest risks applications face right now. When database access is being implemented, the user may be prompted for certain information, such as a username, password, or account pin code. This input is then tested with an SQL query. For instance, if you type your name, the string you type, $name, may be input into an SQL query to find your address. If input checking is not done, or poorly done, an attacker may be able to use SQL injection to enter a string that includes both the user’s name and more SQL query. this can be exploited by the attacker to get access to an organization’s important and confidential data assets.
Error Handling Routines and Input validation can go a long way to protecting web applications but they don’t prevent them all. Attackers occasionally discover a bug allowing them to send a specific string of data to an application. When that happens vendors usually release a quick patch or hotfix. From a Administrators perspective, the solution is to keep the systems up to data with current patches.
Fuzz testing, nessus scans, input validation, and having your code peer reviewed are some of the best options to effectively protect web applications. Generally, I think it is wise to really focus on input validation and peer review. We just learned that injection attacks are number 1 on the OWASP top 10, this means that attackers are leveraging spotty code and inputs that have not been sanitized.
I think the most common security risk is injection. And SQL injection is one of the most common injection flaws found in applications. SQL injection flaws can be caused by use of untrusted data by an application when constructing a vulnerable SQL call.
I think injection risk posts greatest risk to e-commerce. Injection attacks are not strictly separating the code and data, which leads to the wrong execution of the data as part of the code when reading user data, which leads to some security problems. This may affect the integrity and consistency of customer data.
It provides future applications a minimum set of security controls that it must meet in order to harden the app. It provides a good starting point for new apps and then more controls can be added to lower risks to an acceptable level.
The main goal of security baselines is to establish an appropriate level of security for all systems. Baseline defines a set of basic objectives for any given application. It protects from vulnerabilities and threats while still able being able to work efficiently and effectively.
Hi Jonathan,
In my opinion, the broken access control is most difficult to mitigate. Since we have done many exercises and case studies relevant to access control, we could see many organizations still have the issue of access control. It seems to easily mitigate the risk, but many people will ignore how the severity will cause information system insecurity. Additionally, we emphasize that implement the policy to improve access control, but many people could not actually follow it. It involves many conflicts that we need to overcome, such as communicate and collaborate with different departments. When the IT technical supports receive an issue from others, they need to know what the problem is. If they experience an uncooperative employee who does not answer anything, they cannot solve the issue directly and efficiently.
Seeing as SQL injection is one of the more popular injection methods for applications, what are some of the lesser known injections, but still important to know?
(Dynamic Link Library)
DDL is a complied set of code that an application can use without re-creating the code.
DLL Injection is an attack that injects a DLL into a system’s memory and causes it to run. For example if an attacker creates a DLL named malware.ddll which include malware functions. A successful attack attaches the code to a running process, allocates memory within the running process, connects the malicious DLL and executes the function
Memory leak is a bug in a computer application that causes the application to consume more and more memory the longer it runs. In extreme cases the application can consume so much memory that the OS crashes. Memory Leaks are typically caused by an application that reserves memory for a short-term use, but never releases.
Cross-site Scripting (XSS)
The attacker injects an arbitrary script (usually in JavaScript) into a legitimate website or web application. This script is then executed inside the victim’s browser.
LDAP Injection
The attacker injects LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) statements to execute arbitrary LDAP commands. They can gain permissions and modify the contents of the LDAP tree.
XPath injection
The attacker injects data into an application to execute crafted XPath queries. They can use them to access unauthorized data and bypass authentication.
SQL injection attempts. I see sql injection alarms almost daily. We use next gen firewalls so they generally catch them. But any script kiddie with a Kali box can launch SQLmap against a web server to see if it vulnerable to a SQL injection.
Greping for UNION or SELECT in the web logs is generally a pretty good indication of SQL injection attempts.
Security misconfiguration – I have seen a server that was accessible and external to the public with an unsecure port open and the administrator account had default credentials. It was identified after it failed a Qualys scan,.
Cross-site scripting vulnerability. The web application directly sends the execution request from the user back to the browser for execution so that the attacker can obtain the user’s cookie information and log in directly as the user. That’s why most of the web application is getting rid of the cookies.
Injections I would say are the most common, however with newer firewalls you may not realize how many of those attacks come in due to the advanced walls being able to mitigate them.
In my opinion, the hardest part should be the cross-site request truncation attack. A legitimate user who has logged in to a web application executes a malicious HTTP command. Still, the web application is treated as a legitimate request, causing the malicious command to be executed normally.
Cybercriminals are always looking for sensitive data to steal them, access the network, and destroy applications. If these web applications’ security is not high, cybercriminals can use them to steal sensitive business information. For example, in 2015 alone, about 10 million websites were attacked by malicious hackers. Only about 7% of organizations conduct security audits, so organizations face a 24×7 attack risk.
Application security is so important because as applications are being developed, they need continuous monitoring. As developers are writing their code, they might not consider security as the main focus, they just want their code to run. However from a security standpoint, if the code isn’t monitored and consistently assessed, it can lead to loopholes that will be exploited in the future.
Hello Junhan, I found that application-level authentication is superior because it requires the hacker to not only have an exploit, but also authenticated access to a server.
XSS allow attackers to inject malicious code to into a web pages and when users access the web pages, the code is executed. It can be used to break access controls and other policies within the same-origin. To prevent XSS, server input whitelisting or validation can be used to mitigate the risk.
Per the OWASP Top 10, injection techniques have been at the top of the list. Do you foresee any other type of web application security risk to beat injection? If so, which one and why?
Is application security is more complex than operating system security?
What is the biggest risk facing Web applications today?
Based on the OWASP Top 10, I think injection is the biggest risk facing web applications today. The risks of a successful injection attack may include information disclosure, such as login credentials and other sensitive data to the attacker. SQL injections are considered one of the most dangerous web application vulnerabilities. The attacker can inject code via text input fields to force the web server to do what they want.
The most serious attacks against web applications are those that can disclose sensitive data or gain unlimited access to the back-end system running the application. This kind of high-profile attack often occurs, but for many organizations, any attack that causes system interruption is a major event. Through the implementation of application-level denial of service attacks, we can achieve the same purpose as the traditional resource exhaustion attack against infrastructure. However, the implementation of these attacks usually requires more sophisticated operations, and mainly for specific targets. For example, these attacks can be used to destroy specific users or services, to gain a competitive advantage in the fields of Finance and trade, gambling, online bidding, and booking tickets.
Hi everyone!
I do agree with Priyanka on this one. I think sql injection is one of the biggest risks applications face right now. When database access is being implemented, the user may be prompted for certain information, such as a username, password, or account pin code. This input is then tested with an SQL query. For instance, if you type your name, the string you type, $name, may be input into an SQL query to find your address. If input checking is not done, or poorly done, an attacker may be able to use SQL injection to enter a string that includes both the user’s name and more SQL query. this can be exploited by the attacker to get access to an organization’s important and confidential data assets.
What is the most effective way to protect web applications?
Error Handling Routines and Input validation can go a long way to protecting web applications but they don’t prevent them all. Attackers occasionally discover a bug allowing them to send a specific string of data to an application. When that happens vendors usually release a quick patch or hotfix. From a Administrators perspective, the solution is to keep the systems up to data with current patches.
Fuzz testing, nessus scans, input validation, and having your code peer reviewed are some of the best options to effectively protect web applications. Generally, I think it is wise to really focus on input validation and peer review. We just learned that injection attacks are number 1 on the OWASP top 10, this means that attackers are leveraging spotty code and inputs that have not been sanitized.
Based on our reading this week on OWASP Top 10, which of the web application security risk is most common?
I think the most common security risk is injection. And SQL injection is one of the most common injection flaws found in applications. SQL injection flaws can be caused by use of untrusted data by an application when constructing a vulnerable SQL call.
What type of web application security risk do you think poses the greatest threats to e-commerce?
I think injection risk posts greatest risk to e-commerce. Injection attacks are not strictly separating the code and data, which leads to the wrong execution of the data as part of the code when reading user data, which leads to some security problems. This may affect the integrity and consistency of customer data.
Why are security baselines needed for installing applications?
These security benchmarks give applications a security criterion, so that they run under specified conditions.
It provides future applications a minimum set of security controls that it must meet in order to harden the app. It provides a good starting point for new apps and then more controls can be added to lower risks to an acceptable level.
The main goal of security baselines is to establish an appropriate level of security for all systems. Baseline defines a set of basic objectives for any given application. It protects from vulnerabilities and threats while still able being able to work efficiently and effectively.
In your opinion, which risk of the OWASP top 10 is the most difficult to mitigate and why?
Hi Jonathan,
In my opinion, the broken access control is most difficult to mitigate. Since we have done many exercises and case studies relevant to access control, we could see many organizations still have the issue of access control. It seems to easily mitigate the risk, but many people will ignore how the severity will cause information system insecurity. Additionally, we emphasize that implement the policy to improve access control, but many people could not actually follow it. It involves many conflicts that we need to overcome, such as communicate and collaborate with different departments. When the IT technical supports receive an issue from others, they need to know what the problem is. If they experience an uncooperative employee who does not answer anything, they cannot solve the issue directly and efficiently.
Seeing as SQL injection is one of the more popular injection methods for applications, what are some of the lesser known injections, but still important to know?
(Dynamic Link Library)
DDL is a complied set of code that an application can use without re-creating the code.
DLL Injection is an attack that injects a DLL into a system’s memory and causes it to run. For example if an attacker creates a DLL named malware.ddll which include malware functions. A successful attack attaches the code to a running process, allocates memory within the running process, connects the malicious DLL and executes the function
Memory leak is a bug in a computer application that causes the application to consume more and more memory the longer it runs. In extreme cases the application can consume so much memory that the OS crashes. Memory Leaks are typically caused by an application that reserves memory for a short-term use, but never releases.
Cross-site Scripting (XSS)
The attacker injects an arbitrary script (usually in JavaScript) into a legitimate website or web application. This script is then executed inside the victim’s browser.
LDAP Injection
The attacker injects LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) statements to execute arbitrary LDAP commands. They can gain permissions and modify the contents of the LDAP tree.
XPath injection
The attacker injects data into an application to execute crafted XPath queries. They can use them to access unauthorized data and bypass authentication.
What security risk/vulnerability from the OWASP’s top 10 have you encountered?
SQL injection attempts. I see sql injection alarms almost daily. We use next gen firewalls so they generally catch them. But any script kiddie with a Kali box can launch SQLmap against a web server to see if it vulnerable to a SQL injection.
Greping for UNION or SELECT in the web logs is generally a pretty good indication of SQL injection attempts.
GET /contact source=nav%27%20UNION%20ALL%20SELECT%20NULL%2CNULL%2CNULL%2CNULL–%20Gjlk 80 – 93.99.104.170 Opera/9.80+(Windows+NT+6.1;+U;+zh-tw)+Presto/2.5.22+Version/10.50 301 0 0 140
GET /contact source=nav%20AND%20%28SELECT%205120%20FROM%28SELECT%20COUNT%28%2A%29%2CCONCAT%280x717a767071%2C%28SELECT%20%28ELT%285120%3D5120%2C1%29%29%29%2C0x7170627671%2CFLOOR%28RAND%280%29%2A2%29%29x%20FROM%20INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS%20GROUP%20BY%20x%29a%29 80 – 93.99.104.170 Opera/9.80+(Windows+NT+6.1;+U;+zh-tw)+Presto/2.5.22+Version/10.50 301 0 0 125
Security misconfiguration – I have seen a server that was accessible and external to the public with an unsecure port open and the administrator account had default credentials. It was identified after it failed a Qualys scan,.
Which web application security risks do you think that occurs the most often within the organization? Why?
Cross-site scripting vulnerability. The web application directly sends the execution request from the user back to the browser for execution so that the attacker can obtain the user’s cookie information and log in directly as the user. That’s why most of the web application is getting rid of the cookies.
Injections I would say are the most common, however with newer firewalls you may not realize how many of those attacks come in due to the advanced walls being able to mitigate them.
Which area of a web application is the hardest to secure?
In my opinion, the hardest part should be the cross-site request truncation attack. A legitimate user who has logged in to a web application executes a malicious HTTP command. Still, the web application is treated as a legitimate request, causing the malicious command to be executed normally.
Why is application security important?
Cybercriminals are always looking for sensitive data to steal them, access the network, and destroy applications. If these web applications’ security is not high, cybercriminals can use them to steal sensitive business information. For example, in 2015 alone, about 10 million websites were attacked by malicious hackers. Only about 7% of organizations conduct security audits, so organizations face a 24×7 attack risk.
Application security is so important because as applications are being developed, they need continuous monitoring. As developers are writing their code, they might not consider security as the main focus, they just want their code to run. However from a security standpoint, if the code isn’t monitored and consistently assessed, it can lead to loopholes that will be exploited in the future.
How would you link OWASP Attack Surface Analysis to Application Threat Modeling?
Why is application-level authentication superior to operating system authentication?
Hello Junhan, I found that application-level authentication is superior because it requires the hacker to not only have an exploit, but also authenticated access to a server.
What is XSS (cross site scripting) and how do attackers use it for malicious activity?
XSS allow attackers to inject malicious code to into a web pages and when users access the web pages, the code is executed. It can be used to break access controls and other policies within the same-origin. To prevent XSS, server input whitelisting or validation can be used to mitigate the risk.
Per the OWASP Top 10, injection techniques have been at the top of the list. Do you foresee any other type of web application security risk to beat injection? If so, which one and why?
why do you think SQL injection is in OWASP top 10 list of risks?
Which application development methodology incorporates better security checks to ensure a final application that is secure?
Which Web Browser attack are most severe?