Web Application Security Testing

A Web app or Web application is an application program stored on a remote server and delivered through a browser interface over the internet. A web application processes sensitive data of users such as financial information, personal information, etc., so they are always a target of cybercriminals. As web apps are evolving and becoming more and more complex, the range of exploitable vulnerabilities is also increasing. Thus security tests to discover the vulnerabilities of web applications are necessary so that developers can remove the vulnerabilities and protect from cyber-attacks. 

What is Web Application Security Testing? 

It is the process of testing, analyzing, and assessing a web application for security flaws or security loopholes which are also called vulnerabilities; in order to prevent data breaches, malware, and other forms of cyberattacks.  

Security means that only authorized access is granted to protected data and any kind of unauthorized access to the system is denied. So, security has two major aspects namely, the protection of data and second is access to that data. 

It is used by security administrators and web developers to test and assess the Web application’s security strength using manual or automated security testing techniques. 

Why is Web Application Security Testing Important? 

Digitization has made our life very easy, the handheld applications on mobile allow us to do many works like banking, shopping, financial investments, etc. very easily. These have many utilities but at the same time, one has to be cautious of hackers and cyber threats, as the hackers are developing more and more sophisticated techniques to bypass the established security standards. As such, regular web security testing is of utmost importance so that we can be warned of any vulnerability that may be used against the apps. Web application security testing helps us to 

• Identify flaws and vulnerabilities in your application. 

• Comply with laws and mandatory regulatory compliances 
• Analyze the current security of the web app 
• Detect security breaches and anomalous behavior 
• To formulate an effective security plan 

G-Info Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd., offers Web Security Testing Services. Our Services rely on manual and automated scan results that precisely reveal unexpected behavior and vulnerabilities within the web applications. At G-Info Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd we enable our customers to test and re-test any web or mobile application or any external network with our application security testing. We always ensure that all results are flexible, and transparent and provide the required data to remediate risks if found, efficiently and effectively. Our expert team will help you to uncover, prioritize and remediate any security vulnerabilities in your mobile or web applications. 

How is Web Application Security Testing Done? 

Web application security testing is typically performed after the web application is developed. The web application is rigorously tested by a series of malicious attacks to see how well the web or mobile application performs or responds. This process is followed by a format report that includes the identified vulnerabilities, possible threats that may arise, and recommendations to remediate the security shortfalls. 

Some of the processes within the testing process are: 

• Password quality rules 
• Session cookies 

• User Authorization Processes 
• Brute force attack testing 
• SQL Injection 

Testing Methodology and Approach 

The g-Info Technology Solutions Security team was engaged to perform a time-boxed manual security assessment against the target application. This assessment involved a deep automated scan using automated scanning tools to discover common vulnerabilities, as well as manual testing. Manual testing includes validation of all issue types covered under the automated scan as well as checks for problems not typically found by automated scanners such as authentication, authorization, and business logic flaws. 

A Vulnerability Assessment is a method of evaluating the security of an application by simulating an attack. The process involves an active analysis of the application for any weaknesses, functional flaws, and vulnerabilities. Any security issues that are identified will be explained with an assessment of their impact, with a solution for their mitigation. The OWASP Web Application Methodology is based on the ‘black box’ approach. The testing model consists of the following phases: 

Information Gathering: 

Gathering information is the first step when a hacker tries to get information about the target. Hackers use different sources and tools to get more information about the target. 

Threat Modeling: 

Threat modeling is a process by which potential threats, such as structural vulnerabilities or the absence of appropriate safeguards, can be identified, enumerated, and mitigations can be prioritized. 

Vulnerability Analysis: 

 A vulnerability assessment is an in-depth analysis of the building functions, systems, and site characteristics to identify building weaknesses and lack of redundancy, and determine mitigations or corrective actions that can be designed or implemented to reduce the vulnerabilities. 

Exploitation: 

 In computer security, a vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited by a threat actor, such as an attacker, to perform unauthorized actions within a computer system. To exploit a vulnerability, an attacker must have at least one applicable tool or technique that can connect to a system weakness. 

Post Exploitation: 

 As the term suggests, post-exploitation basically means the phases of operation once a victim’s system has been compromised by the attacker. The value of the compromised system is determined by the value of the actual data stored in it and how an attacker may make use of it for malicious purposes. The concept of post-exploitation has risen from this fact only as to how you can use the victim’s compromised system’s information. This phase actually deals with collecting sensitive information, documenting it, and having an idea of the configuration settings, network interfaces, and other communication channels. These may be used to maintain persistent access to the system as per the attacker’s needs. 

Reporting: 

 Preparation of report as per severity along with a remedial recommendation. evidence against claims and recommendations after successfully exploiting all vulnerabilities we prepare detailed reports including Proof of concept and recommendations. 

Web Apps Audit Test Standard Followed 

Scanning tools used in the WAPT Test possess the capability to assess OWASP TOP 10 Risk as under: 

OWASP Top 10 Risks (2017) Scanned in the Report 

Attackers can potentially use many different paths through the applications to do harm to your business or organization. Each of these paths represents a risk that may, or may not, be serious enough to warrant attention. 

The OWASP Top 10 list consists of the 10 most-seen application vulnerabilities: 

• Injection 
• Broken Authentication 

• Sensitive data exposure 
• XML External Entities (XXE) 
• Broken Access control 
• Security misconfigurations 
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) 

• Insecure Deserialization 
• Using Components with known vulnerabilities 
• Insufficient logging and monitoring 

The following is the list of controls to test during the assessment 

Summary: 

Web application security pertains to building websites to function as expected even when they are under attack. It involves engineering a collection of security controls into a web application to protect its assets from potentially malicious agents. The aim of web security testing is to find security vulnerabilities in web applications and their configuration.