By far the most effective means of eliminating path traversal vulnerabilities is to avoid passing user-submitted data to any file system API. In many cases, including the original example GetImage.aspx?file=diagram1.jpg , it is entirely unnecessary for an application to do this. For most files that are not subject to any access control, the files can simply … Read more
If you are attacking an MS-SQL database, then there are alternative ways available of discovering the names of database tables and columns, and of extracting useful data. MS-SQL generates extremely verbose error messages, which can be exploited in various ways. Enumerating Table and Column Names Recall the login function described earlier, which performs the following SQL … Read more
In order to extract useful data from the database, you normally need to know the names of the tables and columns containing the data you wish to access. The main enterprise DBMS’s contain a rich amount of database metadata that you can query to discover the names of every table and column within the database. … Read more
Most of the techniques described so far are effective against all of the common database platforms, and any divergences have been accommodated through minor adjustments to syntax. However, as we begin to look at more advanced exploitation techniques, the differences between platforms become more significant, and you will increasingly need to know which type of … Read more
Almost every web application employs a database to store the various kinds of information that it needs in order to operate. For example, a web application deployed by an online retailer might use a database to store the following information: ■ User accounts, credentials, and personal information ■ Descriptions and prices of goods for sale … Read more
Aside from the clear-text transmission of session tokens in network communications, the most common place where tokens are simply disclosed to unauthorized view is in system logs of various kinds. Although it is a rarer occurrence, the consequences of this kind of disclosure are usually more serious because those logs may be viewed by a … Read more
Implementing a secure authentication solution involves attempting to simultaneously meet several key security objectives, and in many cases trade off against other objectives such as functionality, usability, and total cost. In some cases “more” security can actually be counterproductive — for example, forcing users to set very long passwords and change them frequently will often … Read more