Author Archives Zbigniew Banach

BEAST, or Browser Exploit Against SSL/TLS, was an attack that allowed a man-in-the-middle attacker to uncover information from an encrypted SSL/TLS 1.0 session by exploiting a known theoretical vulnerability. The threat prompted browser vendors and web server administrators to move to TLS v1.1 or higher and implement additional safeguards. Although no modern web browser remains vulnerable, the BEAST attack shows how a minor theoretical vulnerability can be combined with other weaknesses to craft a practical attack. This article looks at how the BEAST attack worked, why it was possible, and how it was eventually mitigated. Read More

System hardening is the practice of securing a computer system by reducing its attack surface. This includes removing unnecessary services and unused software, closing open network ports, changing default settings, and so on. For web applications, the attack surface is also affected by the configuration of all underlying operating systems, databases, network devices, application servers, and web servers. This article examines approaches to system hardening and shows what security measures you can apply to keep your web applications safe. Read More

In September 2019, a new CWE/SANS Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Errors list was published for the first time since 2011. Unlike previous lists, it was calculated by analyzing reported vulnerabilities to determine underlying weaknesses, so it is especially valuable for developers and software security professionals. This article looks at the top-rated software weaknesses and shows how they apply in practice to web application security. Read More

2019 has been a very special year for Netsparker, as we celebrated our 10th anniversary. For the past 10 years, our revolutionary web vulnerability scanner has been helping organizations of all sizes worldwide to eliminate vulnerabilities, reduce costs, and embrace automation. We’ve also been busy with industry events, security research, whitepapers, and blog articles – so please join us for a look back at this year’s highlights and most popular content. Read More

DNS cache poisoning attacks try to fool applications into connecting to a malicious IP address by flooding a DNS resolver cache with fake addresses corresponding to requested domain names. If the attacker succeeds in filling the DNS cache with false data, the resolver might return a spoofed address instead of querying for the real one. As a result, the user might connect to a malicious site at the address returned from the cache. Let’s see why DNS spoofing is possible and how you can mitigate the threat. Read More

A reverse shell is a shell session established on a connection that is initiated from a remote machine, not from the attacker’s host. Attackers who successfully exploit a remote command execution vulnerability can use a reverse shell to obtain an interactive shell session on the target machine and continue their attack. Reverse shells can also work across a NAT or firewall. This article explains how reverse shells work in practice and what you can do to prevent them. Read More

2019 has seen cybersecurity issues firmly take their place in the news, both for the technology industry and the general public. While organizations are increasingly aware of the importance of cybersecurity, most are struggling to define and implement the required security measures. In this article, we take a look at 10 cybersecurity trends that are likely to shape the cybersecurity landscape in 2020, from data breaches and IT security staff shortages to security automation and integration. Read More

Red team versus blue team exercises simulate real-life cyberattacks against organizations to locate weaknesses and improve information security. In this wargaming approach, the red team are the attackers and they attempt to infiltrate an organization’s digital and physical defenses using any attack techniques available to real attackers. The blue team’s job is to detect penetration attempts and prevent exploitation. Red team vs blue team exercises can last several weeks and provide a realistic assessment of an organization’s security posture. Read More

Static code analysis tools are used to automatically check source code for errors and security vulnerabilities, as well as ensure compliance with coding standards. While effective for some classes of vulnerabilities, they have a number of disadvantages and limitations, especially for web applications. Dynamic analysis solutions address many of these problems and can complement or replace static tools. This article looks at some of the shortcomings of static analysis and shows how deploying dynamic analysis tools can help you improve web application security. Read More

XSS filter evasion refers to a variety of methods used by attackers to bypass Cross-Site Scripting filters. Attackers attempting to inject malicious JavaScript into web page code must not only exploit an application vulnerability, but also evade input validation and fool complex browser filters. This article looks at some common approaches to XSS filter evasion and shows what you can do to improve application security. Read More

DevSecOps, or Development, Security and Operations, is a software development methodology that integrates security checks and practices into DevOps processes. Implementing DevSecOps requires organizations to adopt a security-first mindset and use automated security validation in their DevOps pipeline. This article looks at the evolution of methodologies towards DevSecOps and shows what tools can be used to ensure security in agile web application development. Read More

Cyberattacks are an inevitable part of everyday business for organizations of all sizes worldwide. Despite growing awareness of the consequences of a successful attack, many organizations still downplay the associated risks. A cyberattack can have devastating and long-lasting consequences for the entire organization, and in this article, we will look at 5 crucial ways that a cyberattack can hurt your business. Read More

Code injection, also called Remote Code Execution (RCE), occurs when an attacker exploits an input validation flaw in software to introduce and execute malicious code. Code is injected in the language of the targeted application and executed by the server-side interpreter. Any application that directly uses unvalidated input is vulnerable to code injection, and web applications are a prime target for attackers. This article shows how code injection vulnerabilities arise and how you can protect your web applications from injection. Read More

HTTPS has become the protocol of choice for any serious website, but enforcing the use of HTTPS instead of HTTP requires the HTTP Strict Transport Security header, or HSTS. Using the HSTS header, the server informs the visiting browser that only the HTTPS version of the requested site is available, and plain HTTP will not be served. In this article, we will look at the history of HSTS, see how it works and how to set it up, and learn why using it can actually drive traffic to your website. Read More

Organizations are consistently reporting increased numbers of cyber incidents, with data breaches and ransomware infections fast becoming a common occurrence. Solid security procedures and good planning can go a long way towards preventing many incidents but when things go wrong, you have to be prepared for recovery. In this article, we will look at 7 key aspects of planning for cyber incident recovery to maintain business continuity and minimize costly downtime. Read More

With so many businesses dependent on web and cloud technologies, sooner or later every organization may need to handle a web cyber security incident. Having a cyber security incident response plan (IR plan) is crucial for maintaining business continuity and recording information to manage any incident and its aftermath. This article looks at how you can plan your web security incident responses, what threats you need to consider, and why having an effective and tested response plan is a necessity for modern organizations. Read More

This article presents an overview of session hijacking, common attack methods with examples, and the dangers of successful hijack attempts. You will also learn how to protect your data from hijacking threats. Read More

Clickjacking attacks attempt to trick the user into unintentionally clicking an unexpected web page element. Most clickjacking methods exploit vulnerabilities related to HTML iframes and prevention centers around preventing page framing. In this blog post, we will see how clickjacking works, how it can be prevented, and why this threat to application security is not going away any time soon. Read More

This article explains what is privilege escalation, what are the types of privilege escalation (horizontal and vertical) and how can privilege escalation endanger your systems. It also examines typical privilege escalation scenarios and teaches you how you can protect user accounts in your systems and applications to maintain a good security posture. Read More