When we visit a website, it is common to be able to browse different pages. Each page can be represented by a file on the server. In order to determine which file to provide, the application needs the client to specify which file it is interested in. To do this, sometimes the page the user wants is present in a request parameter.
Faced with an ever-increasing number of sophisticated attacks, web application security is a major challenge. Indeed, security is now crucial to reassure customers, build loyalty and convert prospects.
There are several ways of assessing the security of a web application. In this article, we present the “offensive” approach, which we believe to be the most effective: web application penetration testing. We detail the principles and objectives, as well as use cases for black box, grey box and white box penetration tests on various targets.
To make things easier for developers, many frameworks include features that automatically associate the parameters of an HTTP request with variables linked to an object in the application code.
A Mass Assignment vulnerability occurs when the server does not correctly filter the data transmitted by the user and associates it directly with an object without verification.
In a previous article, we reviewed the most critical and widespread vulnerability in web applications according to the OWASP Top 10: broken access control. Today, we tackle the common vulnerabilities and exploits related to the lack or absence of encryption in applications.
Recently, one of our clients asked us to review their Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline, deployed on an AWS infrastructure.
In this article, we will show how a developer with limited access to GitLab could have escalated his privileges and gained access to sensitive information to take control of the AWS infrastructure and cause significant damage to the organisation. We will also detail good practices and measures to implement to counter this type of risk.
In a previous article, we saw why it was important to store passwords in a database with robust hash functions such as Bcrypt and Argon2. This helps to render brute force or dictionary attacks completely ineffective.
However, a problem is regularly noted on already existing applications: how to use the latest recommendations on password storage on an existing database?
Access control is a central element in ensuring the security of web applications. It must be based on robust authentication and session management that takes into account various security risks, such as session hijacking.
XSS exploitation, session fixation, lack of encryption, MFA bypass, etc., there are many techniques to hijack a user’s session. In this article, we present the main attacks and exploits.
The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is a community working to improve the security of information systems and more specifically applications (web, mobile, APIs).
This organisation produces numerous resources, in particular guides and standards for application security, including the OWASP Top 10. It also develops open source tools such as ZAP (an interception proxy, an alternative to BURP), or Amass (to map its attack surface).
Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a central and widely used mechanism for strengthening the security of user accounts and access to a system.
Indeed, it is an authentication method that prevents many malicious attacks and exploits aimed at compromising data: brute force, session hijacking, privilege escalation, etc.
