Web Application Security Fundamentals | Free Udemy Course

After reading this session, participants will be able to understand what OWASP vulnerabilites are, and that security in web application must be took in consideration in the process of making it.

After reading this session, participants will be able to understand what Ethical hacking is.

Please select the correct answer of each question, this quizz will allow you to make sure that you understood the web application security challenges and the definition of ethical hacking.

Burp Suite is a popular web application security testing tool used by security professionals for finding and identifying vulnerabilities in web applications. It provides a wide range of features such as intercepting and modifying web traffic, scanning for vulnerabilities, and automating attacks.

To download Burp Suite, you can visit the official website of PortSwigger, the developer of Burp Suite, and download the community edition for free. The community edition provides all the basic features required for web application security testing.

Once you have downloaded and installed Burp Suite, you can configure it in Mozilla Firefox by following the below steps:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines located at the top right corner of the screen.

2. Click on "Preferences" and then select "General".

3. Scroll down and click on "Network Settings".

4. Under "Connection Settings", select "Manual Proxy Configuration".

5. In the "HTTP Proxy" field, enter "127.0.0.1" and in the "Port" field, enter "8080".

6. Check the box "Use this proxy server for all protocols".

7. Click on "OK" to save the settings.

Now, you can open Burp Suite and start intercepting the traffic by clicking on the "Proxy" tab and then clicking on the "Intercept" sub-tab. This will allow you to modify and inspect the web traffic flowing between your browser and the web server.

Once you have downloaded and installed Burp Suite, you can configure it in Google Chrome by following these steps:

1. Open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots located at the top right corner of the screen.

2. Click on "Settings" and then select "Advanced".

3. Scroll down and click on "System".

4. Click on "Open proxy settings".

5. In the "Internet Properties" window that opens, select the "Connections" tab.

6. Click on the "LAN settings" button.

7. Check the box "Use a proxy server for your LAN".

8. In the "Address" field, enter "127.0.0.1" and in the "Port" field, enter "8080".

9. Click on "OK" to save the settings.

Another way to configure Burp Suite in Google Chrome is by using FoxyProxy, a browser extension that allows you to easily switch between different proxies. This method is particularly useful if you need to switch between different proxies frequently.

To configure Burp Suite in Google Chrome using FoxyProxy, follow the steps below:

1. Open Google Chrome and install the FoxyProxy extension from the Chrome Web Store.

2. Open Burp Suite and click on the "Proxy" tab.

3. Click on the "Options" sub-tab.

4. Under the "Proxy listeners" section, click on "Add".

5. In the "Add proxy listener" window, select "All interfaces" and enter "8080" in the "Bind to port" field.

6. Click on "OK" to save the settings.

7. Open FoxyProxy by clicking on the FoxyProxy icon located at the top right corner of the screen.

8. Click on "Options" and then select "Add new proxy".

9. Enter a name for the proxy and in the "Proxy details" section, select "HTTP" as the protocol.

10. In the "Proxy IP address" field, enter "127.0.0.1" and in the "Port" field, enter "8080".

11. Click on "Save" to save the settings.

Now, you can switch between the FoxyProxy and direct connection by clicking on the FoxyProxy icon and selecting the appropriate option. This will allow you to intercept and modify web traffic using Burp Suite.

This quizz will test your abilities in the BurpSuite installation and configuration.

A brute force attack is a type of cyber attack in which an attacker tries to guess a password or encryption key by systematically trying all possible combinations until the correct one is found. This method involves using a program or script to automate the process of generating and testing possible passwords. Brute force attacks can be used to gain unauthorized access to a system, steal sensitive data, or disrupt normal operations.

Brute force attacks can be very effective if the password is weak or if the attacker has access to a large amount of computing power. However, the process can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially if the password is complex and uses a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. To protect against brute force attacks, it is recommended to use strong and unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication whenever possible, and implement rate-limiting mechanisms that prevent multiple login attempts within a short period of time. It is also important to keep software and systems up to date with the latest security patches to reduce the risk of vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers.

This quizz will allow you to test your comprehension to bruteforce attacks on passwords.

SQL injection is a type of cyber attack that targets web applications by exploiting vulnerabilities in the code that interacts with a database. The attack involves inserting malicious SQL code into a web form or URL parameter to manipulate the database and retrieve sensitive information or modify data.

In a SQL injection attack, an attacker can bypass authentication, extract confidential data, or modify data in the database. For example, an attacker can use SQL injection to retrieve a list of usernames and passwords from a database and use this information to gain unauthorized access to a system. Alternatively, an attacker can use SQL injection to modify the content of a website or to deface it.

To prevent SQL injection attacks, web developers need to use secure coding practices and implement parameterized queries. Parameterized queries are precompiled SQL statements that allow the application to pass user input as parameters, which are treated as data rather than as code. This approach helps to prevent SQL injection by ensuring that user input is properly sanitized and validated before it is passed to the database.

In addition to secure coding practices, web application firewalls (WAFs) can be used to protect against SQL injection attacks. WAFs are designed to detect and block malicious traffic before it reaches the application. They use a combination of signature-based and behavioral-based analysis to identify and block attacks, including SQL injection.

In conclusion, SQL injection is a serious threat to web applications that can result in data theft, system compromise, or website defacement. Web developers and administrators need to implement secure coding practices and use WAFs to protect against SQL injection attacks. Additionally, users should be cautious when entering sensitive information into web forms and use strong and unique passwords to protect against unauthorized access to their accounts.

SQL injection Union-based is a specific type of SQL injection attack that targets web applications with vulnerabilities in the SQL code. This attack is particularly dangerous because it allows an attacker to extract data from multiple tables in the database, rather than just a single table.

The Union-based SQL injection attack involves adding a UNION operator to the end of an existing SQL query, followed by a second query that retrieves data from another table in the database. The UNION operator combines the results of the first query with the results of the second query, allowing the attacker to retrieve data from multiple tables.

For example, an attacker can use a Union-based SQL injection attack to extract data from a database that contains customer information, such as name, address, and credit card information. The attacker can insert malicious code into a web form that retrieves data from the customer table, and then adds a second query that retrieves data from the credit card table. The Union operator combines the results of both queries, allowing the attacker to retrieve sensitive information from both tables.

To prevent Union-based SQL injection attacks, web developers need to use secure coding practices and implement parameterized queries that properly validate and sanitize user input. In addition, web application firewalls (WAFs) can be used to detect and block Union-based SQL injection attacks by analyzing traffic and blocking suspicious requests.

In conclusion, Union-based SQL injection attacks are a serious threat to web applications that can result in data theft, system compromise, or website defacement. Web developers and administrators need to implement secure coding practices and use WAFs to protect against Union-based SQL injection attacks. Additionally, users should be cautious when entering sensitive information into web forms and use strong and unique passwords to protect against unauthorized access to their accounts.

This quizz will test your knowledge on SQL injections

XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) injection is a type of cyber attack that targets web applications by exploiting vulnerabilities in the code that processes user input. The attack involves injecting malicious code into a web page that is then executed by other users who view the page, allowing the attacker to steal sensitive information or perform actions on behalf of the user.

In an XSS attack, an attacker can inject malicious code into a web form or URL parameter to trick the application into executing the code. For example, an attacker can inject code that steals cookies, allowing the attacker to impersonate the user and access their account. Alternatively, the attacker can inject code that modifies the content of the page or redirects the user to a malicious website.

To prevent XSS attacks, web developers need to use secure coding practices and implement input validation and output encoding. Input validation ensures that user input is properly sanitized and validated before it is processed by the application, while output encoding ensures that any user-generated content is encoded to prevent execution of malicious code.

In addition to secure coding practices, web application firewalls (WAFs) can be used to protect against XSS attacks. WAFs are designed to detect and block malicious traffic before it reaches the application. They use a combination of signature-based and behavioral-based analysis to identify and block attacks, including XSS.

In conclusion, XSS injection is a serious threat to web applications that can result in data theft, system compromise, or website defacement. Web developers and administrators need to implement secure coding practices and use WAFs to protect against XSS attacks. Additionally, users should be cautious when clicking on links or entering sensitive information into web forms to protect against unauthorized access to their accounts.

CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) is a type of cyber attack that targets web applications by exploiting the trust relationship between a user and a website. The attack involves tricking a user into performing an action on a website without their knowledge or consent, such as transferring funds or changing their password.

In a CSRF attack, an attacker creates a malicious web page that includes a hidden form that automatically submits a request to the target website when the user visits the page. The request appears to come from the user, and if the user is authenticated to the target website, the request is processed as if it were legitimate.

To prevent CSRF attacks, web developers need to use secure coding practices and implement anti-CSRF measures. One common technique is to include a randomly generated token in each form that is submitted to the server. The token is then checked on the server-side to ensure that it matches the expected value. This prevents an attacker from forging a valid request because they would not have access to the token.

In addition to secure coding practices, web application firewalls (WAFs) can be used to protect against CSRF attacks. WAFs are designed to detect and block malicious traffic before it reaches the application. They use a combination of signature-based and behavioral-based analysis to identify and block attacks, including CSRF.

In conclusion, CSRF is a serious threat to web applications that can result in data theft, system compromise, or financial loss. Web developers and administrators need to implement secure coding practices and use WAFs to protect against CSRF attacks. Additionally, users should be cautious when clicking on links or entering sensitive information into web forms to protect against unauthorized access to their accounts.

this will test your knowledge on the 3 last vulnerabilities that you have seen.

Website scanning is an important process for identifying vulnerabilities in web applications. It involves scanning the website for common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and insecure uploads. One common tool used for website scanning is DirBuster.

DirBuster is a free and open-source tool that is designed to identify directories and files that are hidden or not linked to the website's homepage. The tool works by sending HTTP requests to the web server and analyzing the response codes to identify potential directories and files.

Using DirBuster, web administrators can identify directories and files that are not intended to be publicly accessible. This includes sensitive data such as configuration files, backup files, and user credentials that can be used to compromise the security of the web application. By identifying these directories and files, administrators can take the necessary steps to secure the web application and prevent unauthorized access.

DirBuster can also be used to identify potential entry points for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in the web application. This includes directories that are accessible to users with low-level privileges, which can be used to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.

In conclusion, website scanning using tools like DirBuster is an important process for identifying vulnerabilities in web applications. By identifying potential vulnerabilities, web administrators can take the necessary steps to secure the web application and prevent unauthorized access. It is important to regularly scan web applications for vulnerabilities and implement secure coding practices to prevent attacks.

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) is a type of cyber attack that tricks users into unknowingly executing malicious actions on a web application. CSRF attacks occur when an attacker sends a forged HTTP request to a victim's browser, using their established authentication to make the request appear legitimate. Fortunately, there are several ways for developers to avoid CSRF attacks.

1. Use anti-CSRF tokens: Anti-CSRF tokens are unique, randomly generated tokens that are attached to user requests. These tokens are then verified on the server side to ensure that the request was legitimate and not forged. This is one of the most effective ways to prevent CSRF attacks.

2. Use HTTP-only cookies: HTTP-only cookies can prevent CSRF attacks by preventing client-side scripts from accessing them. This means that even if an attacker injects malicious scripts into a web page, they will not be able to access sensitive information stored in cookies.

3. Use the SameSite attribute: The SameSite attribute can prevent CSRF attacks by restricting the use of cookies to the same domain as the web application. This means that if an attacker tries to use a user's cookie to make a request to a different domain, the request will be rejected.

4. Use CAPTCHAs: CAPTCHAs are tests that are used to verify that a user is human and not a script. This can prevent automated CSRF attacks that are carried out by bots.

5. Keep software up-to-date: Regularly update the web application and its dependencies, including frameworks and libraries, to ensure that known vulnerabilities have been patched and that your web application is protected.

In conclusion, by following best practices such as using anti-CSRF tokens, using HTTP-only cookies, using the SameSite attribute, using CAPTCHAs, and keeping software up-to-date, developers can help protect their web applications from CSRF attacks. By implementing these measures, developers can ensure the security of their web applications and the data they contain.