Open Web Application Security Project or OWASP is an organization for the security of various software. It is a non-profit organization. Their main aim is to define open-source development programs and toolkits, along with local chapters and references. OWASP has also a project that defines the top 10 vulnerabilities that are highly dangerous for web applications. The OWASP Risk Rating Methodology identifies the flaws in the working of the website of the application and how to fix them as well.
Top 10 Vulnerabilities according to OWASP
Let us have a look at the top 10 vulnerabilities that can damage the working of a web application:
- Injection
An injection is a method where hackers inject malicious codes into the program to hack an application. The code is insecure and is unidentified by the program. Hence, the hacker can delve into the core files of the application and gain access to them. This helps the hacker to change the working of the application and ruin its business completely. With the help of an injection attack, the hackers can gain access to the confidential information of the application. SQL injections, command injections, CRLF injections, and LDAP injections are all forms of injection attacks.
- Broken authentication
Broken authentication is a process where the authentication and session management is poorly implemented. The attack aims to gain the same privileges as the user. The attackers can access passwords, user accounts, login information, session tokens or keys, and other such confidential information. If attackers get to know such vulnerabilities then they access all the controls as of a legitimate user. Multifactor authentication is one method to avoid broken authentication. One can also implement DAST and SCA scans to patch such issues before they arise.
- Sensitive Data Exposure
APIs allow one to exchange information between two applications. This is one of the greatest time savers for people and organizations. But few APIs do not use a secure data transmission method which allows hackers to hack such data. Hence, they can access confidential information like usernames, passwords, credential information, and many other things. Data encryption, tokenization, proper key management, disabling response caching, are all methods to lower the exposure of sensitive data.
- XML External Entity
When an application faces insecure code, integrations, or dependencies, the attackers can upload hostile XML content. An SCA scan helps to find the vulnerabilities in the third party and will inform you about them in the scan results. One can also lower the chances of XML entity attack by disabling external XML entity processing.
- Broken Access Control
The situation occurs when authentication and access restriction are not properly implemented. Hackers take advantage of such situations and make the changes to an application according to their preference. If the access to an application is broken then unauthenticated and unauthorized users can access sensitive files and use privilege settings. Penetration testing along with other testing methods can help one to identify missing authentication steps. Measures like multi-factor authentication, coding practices, and locking down administrative accounts can help to lower the damage caused due to broken access control.
- Security Misconfiguration
Security Misconfiguration can be defined as the improper application of security methods for an application. This gives hackers access to sensitive files and data. Dynamic testing can help one to find such misconfigurations and heal them within a safe time.
- Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Scripting or XSS is one of the high used methods by hackers to hack an application or server. It takes the advantage of APIs and retrieves all the personal information like credential information, usernames and passwords, and many more. They are also able to access your browser history. Input validation and data encoding can help to lower such attacks. One can clean their data by encoding it the perfect one for a particular field.
- Insecure Deserialization
Deserialization of data or saved objects can be used to insert malicious codes into your server or application. This acts as a door to hack your website. The situation occurs when an attacker uses malicious data to manipulate an application. Hackers also use DoS attacks or use unpredictable code to bring changes in the functioning of the application. Penetration testing and other security testing tools can help one to detect insecure deserialization. It is advised to avoid accepting serialized data from untrusted sources.
- Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
Hackers can exploit your APIs or third-party dependencies as they are not secure. A static analysis along with software composition analysis can help one locate insecure components in the application.
- Insufficient Logging and Monitoring
Log-in errors or attacks and poor monitoring practices can prove detrimental to the security of an application. To lower such conditions one needs to ensure that all login failures, access control failures, and input side validation failures are logged with appropriate context to identify the suspicious activity easily. Penetration testing can help one to identify the areas of application that experience insufficient logging.
Conclusion
The following article includes the top 10 vulnerabilities mentioned by OWASP. The organization helps to inform about the vulnerabilities and risks that can damage the operation of an application. The organization also suggests one with preventive methods to get rid of these vulnerabilities.