Many companies give web security priority after threat occurrence or in case of a crisis. With a lot of remote working and advancements in technology, the web is becoming more vulnerable.
Cybercriminals are always searching for weaknesses so that they can access computers and sensitive data for malicious purposes. Understanding web security vulnerabilities will enable IT professionals to design checks and measures to mitigate them and safeguard the integrity of data. Let’s discuss some of the most common web security vulnerabilities.
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
CSRF is one of the most common web vulnerabilities that occur by tricking users. A user is tricked into performing actions that seem verifiable but actually hold malicious intent. The actions include changing their password or their account emails.
CSRF attacks can quickly lead to an account takeover or escalation from hackers, so it is important to have email security measures. Implementing email protection software can help to protect users’ emails from hackers and malware. CSRF attacks target password reset functionalities and login forms and can be quite deceiving. In 2020, Glassdoor suffered a serious CSRF vulnerability where attackers obtained tokens from a server and hijacked user accounts.
Cross-site scripting (XSS)
The scripts embedded in web pages on the users’ side are more prone to XSS vulnerabilities. The flaws occur when applications take data from untrusted sources and send it to browsers with no clear validation. Since it is difficult for the browser to identify the trustworthiness of scripts, the script will quickly be executed.
The attacker will therefore deface websites, hijack cookies or make users access malicious websites. That is why it is important for organizations to choose a web development company with good quality control and the best standard practices. XSS makes an attacker run malware on targeted machines by attacking URLs and input fields.
Remote code execution (RCE)
RCE attacks involve an application allowing a hacker to execute and spread dangerous codes on the web. This attack has become common in many web-based applications, so IT professionals should take it seriously.
When an attack becomes successful, it gives the attacker limitless abilities such as malware deployment, probing of internal systems, and so on. The RCE attack took place in IBM’s Log4 Shell in 2021, where an attacker was able to execute malicious code on a vulnerable application.
Local file inclusion (LFI)
10% of web applications today are prone to LFI attacks. LFI presents itself when a malicious person causes an application to expose sensitive files on a web server. This is more common in applications that use data input that is not validated.
LFI leads to information and data disclosure, and it can open doors for other web attacks such as SQL injection and XSS. In 2016, Adult Friend Finder had a breach that led to an exposure of over 300 million accounts. The attackers may have used unauthorized access files through LFI.
SQL injection
SQL injection vulnerability lets an attacker alter SQL statements through data manipulation. Injection happens when the input is sent to another person as part of a query or command to trick that person into executing commands. When a user executes commands, this gives the attacker an opportunity to access data.
The common implications of SQL injection include:
- Injecting malicious information into identifiable fields
- Allowing sensitive data such as passwords and usernames to be accessed from the database
- Modification of data in the database
- Executing administrative operations on the database.
One of the cases of SQL injection occurred at Cisco in 2018, where a hole in the license manager permitted unscrupulous SQL queries.
Broken authentication
Websites create session IDs and session cookies for all valid sessions, and the cookies hold sensitive data such as usernames and passwords. After the end of a session, the cookies must be invalidated so that every session has a new cookie. Failure to invalidate cookies causes sensitive data to remain in the system.
An attacker using the same computer can steal sensitive data such as credit card information, profile information, etc. Organizations should conduct checks to find whether the session management and authentication process is strong.
Security misconfiguration
Security misconfiguration affects web applications, frameworks, database servers, web servers and the whole network platform. Proper configuration of these systems can give an attacker an opportunity to access functionalities and sensitive data. The vulnerable object to these attacks includes URL, input fields and form fields to read about doujindesu.
The attacker enumerates technology, database information, and server version information to access sensitive data. A good example is where there is a failure to disable a server on a directory listing giving an attacker an opportunity to find files by listing directories to read prorobux. com. To prevent security misconfiguration, organizations can change default passwords and usernames or implement a solid application architecture to provide better security and separation between the components to read imginn.
Sensitive data exposure
Users may transport and store data without encrypting it, leaving it vulnerable to attacks. When data is being sent to clients, the attackers can steal from the data packets. Stored data can be accessed as a result of weak credentials or protection procedures.
Organizations can prevent data exposure by implementing perfect forward secrecy (PFS), ciphers and HTTPS. They can also disable data caching or encrypt the data stored in the database.
Using components with common vulnerabilities
When using components on web applications or third-party codes, it is important to conduct due diligence. Security can be compromised through the use of codes from unfamiliar sources, and any aspect of an app may be attacked by third-party codes.
For instance, it is possible for someone to add financial services codes and allow the attackers to read sensitive data. The easiest way to prevent such attacks is by identifying the source of codes before using them.
Conclusion
Web security vulnerabilities are on the rise, and failure to address them may lead to reduced productivity. Web developers spend so much time dealing with security issues. System users, including IT professionals, should mitigate the threats to protect the systems against attacks. Implementing effective security practices could safeguard applications to enhance the efficiency of carrying out tasks.