When you are building a web application, it is crucial to perform security testing. This can help you find vulnerabilities and fix them before they become exploitable.

There are a variety of tools that can be used for this purpose. These include Nmap, W3af scanner, Burp Suite Toolkit and SQLMap.

Authentication

In web application security testing, authentication refers to the process of verifying that the user is who they say they are. This is done to ensure that only the person accessing the application has the proper permissions to do so. It’s a critical aspect of web application security.

Authentication is often performed via a password, but it can also be done through other mechanisms like biometrics and smartcards. It is the best way to verify that a user is who they say they are and to determine whether or not they have the proper privileges.

The first step in conducting an authenticated test is to identify any credentials that could be used to log into the application. A good tool to use is Netsparker or Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner.

Next, you need to identify the login macros used by the application and to check that they are working properly. It is also a good idea to check that the user accounts and their management policies are configured correctly.

Finally, you need to look at the authentication method in place for logging into private areas of the application. This is a common weakness that can be exploited by cyber attackers.

To avoid this, you need to ensure that the usernames and passwords are properly encrypted. In addition, you need to check that the application has password recovery features and is using a strong encryption key when handling passwords.

Lastly, you need to make sure that the web application is using an appropriate certificate for SSL encryption. This will help prevent hackers from stealing your confidential information while visiting the site.

During the initial phase of web application security testing, it’s important to gather as much information about the application and its network systems as possible. This information can be compiled into a report that highlights vulnerabilities and risks. It can be used to prioritize application security testing efforts and allow the development team to prioritize remediation.

URL Manipulation

In web application security testing, URL manipulation is a common technique to find vulnerabilities in a website. The purpose of this test is to examine how an attacker can get access to sensitive data, including usernames and passwords. This is particularly important for websites that have user data hosted on them, such as credit cards or bank accounts.

A URL has several different parts that can be manipulated to allow an attacker to gain access to sensitive information. These include an ID and password, a server name that indicates which specific servers are accessible, and the port number of the service that is requested.

The next part of the URL is a path that indicates which resources are accessible to users, usually through a domain or IP address associated with the server. This information can be used to tamper with information shared on certain servers or load it in synchronization with an existing domain name or IP address.

Another way to manipulate a URL is to add or remove parameters. For example, if a person wants to make a payment on a site, they might add a parameter that says how much money they want to pay. This could be a number, a percentage, or a currency value.

If a hacker has access to a website, they can manipulate these parameters and use them in a phishing attack. The phishing site will look similar to the original website and will be designed to look legitimate. This will cause the victim to trust it and enter their personal information without realizing that they are being redirected to a malicious website.

These tampered values can then be exploited to steal information or control the website by manipulating the underlying databases, servers, or applications. This type of attack is often called a “backdoor” and is very difficult to detect and prevent.

For this reason, it is important to test a website for URL manipulation before the actual launch. This will give you a better idea of what kind of risks you are facing before you start your project.

Cross-Site Scripting

XSS is a type of vulnerability in web applications that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into a web page and run them on the victim’s device. Unlike SQL injection and other attack vectors, which target application code, XSS attacks focus on the end user. Depending on the type of attack, XSS can result in data exfiltration, compromised user accounts, or malware infections on the victim’s device.

Typically, XSS flaws occur when an application allows users to send untrusted JavaScript into a web page. These scripts can modify the HTML content of the page. This can lead to dangerous consequences if the application does not properly process HTML escape sequences.

In another type of XSS attack, attackers can exploit a weakness in the way an application handles the storage of data. This can result in stored XSS vulnerabilities, which are more damaging than non-persistent XSS flaws.

Stored XSS occurs when an attacker injects a malicious script into a web application and then stores the script on the server. This can be done using a blog, forum, message board, or database. The XSS payload is then displayed in the browser when a victim navigates to the site that contains the vulnerable script.

Reflected XSS is the most common form of XSS, but it does not require the victim to click on the injected link to activate it. Instead, the victim receives a Hypertext Transfer Protocol response that includes the injected script and enables it to be executed by their browser.

The resulting code can have a wide variety of impacts, including the theft of cookies and session tokens that are retained by the browser. In addition, it can allow the attacker to rewrite the page’s HTML content.

Dangling markup injection is a type of cross-site scripting (XSS) attack that is used to steal sensitive information that cannot be directly accessed via a traditional XSS attack due to input filters or other defenses. It can also allow attackers to obtain CSRF tokens, which are used to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of a user.

In order to protect against XSS, web developers must ensure that user input is properly sanitized before it is used in a web application. In addition, web application security testing tools can help developers identify and fix potential XSS issues. These tools use techniques such as fuzzing to test for possible vulnerabilities.

SQL Injection

A SQL Injection attack exploits a vulnerability in a web application or system that uses a database to store data. This is a common type of web vulnerability that can lead to serious security breaches for any organization.

It is important to perform regular web application security testing for any website or web application that stores data in a database. Performing vulnerability tests will allow you to find any loopholes that could be used to execute SQL injection attacks on your site or application.

The best way to protect against SQL Injection attacks is to sanitize inputs that are entered into fields on your website or web application. You can do this by creating a list of characters that you accept or deny in user inputs. Then, you can whitelist and blacklist these characters to block any requests containing these characters from reaching your application.

You can also prevent SQL injection attacks by limiting the types of statements that can be passed to stored procedures. This can help prevent the attack from gaining access to your application, but it won’t make your application completely secure against SQL Injection.

Another technique is to use parameterized queries, which specify placeholders for untrusted input that the database will interpret as a data value rather than a command. This is especially useful in situations where the application places untrusted input into a WHERE clause or within an INSERT or UPDATE statement.

However, parameterized queries can’t prevent SQL Injection attacks in other parts of a query, including the table or column names, ORDER BY clause, or any other part where untrusted input appears as a command. This means that application functionality that puts untrusted input into these parts will need to take a different approach, such as white-listing permitted input values or using different logic to deliver the required behavior.

SQL Injection vulnerabilities can be detected through a variety of methods, including web application scanners and full-scale pen-testing tools. You can also use a solution like Web Application Firewalls to block malicious traffic before it is even sent to your server.