How Sans Sec 542 Can Help You Become a Professional Web Application Penetration Tester
Sans Sec 542: Web Application Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking
Web applications play a vital role in every modern organization. However, if your organization doesnt properly test and secure its web apps, adversaries can compromise these applications, damage business functionality, and steal data. Unfortunately, many organizations operate under the mistaken impression that a web application security scanner will reliably discover flaws in their systems.
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Sans Sec 542 is a course that helps students move beyond push-button scanning to professional, thorough, and high-value web application penetration testing. In this article, we will introduce what Sans Sec 542 is, what it covers, what it benefits, and how it can help you become a better web application penetration tester.
Course overview
Sans Sec 542 is a six-day program that teaches students how to assess a web applications security posture and convincingly demonstrate the business impact should attackers exploit discovered vulnerabilities. The course covers a detailed four-step methodology for web application penetration testing: reconnaissance, mapping, discovery, and exploitation. The course also introduces common web application vulnerabilities and attacks, such as injection flaws, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), broken authentication and session management, insecure direct object references and access control, security misconfiguration, sensitive data exposure, and more. The course also teaches students how to use various tools for web application penetration testing, such as interception proxies, automated scanners, exploitation frameworks, and scripting languages. The course culminates with a web application penetration testing capture-the-flag exercise, where students can apply the learned skills and techniques to solve realistic challenges.
Course benefits
Sans Sec 542 is a course that provides many benefits for students who want to learn or improve their web application penetration testing skills. Some of the benefits are:
The course is taught by experienced and certified instructors who have real-world experience in web application penetration testing and ethical hacking.
The course is based on a proven and practical methodology that guides students through the entire process of web application penetration testing, from information gathering to reporting.
The course is hands-on and interactive, with more than 30 labs that allow students to practice the art of exploiting web applications to find flaws in their enterprises web apps.
The course is updated and relevant, with the latest web application vulnerabilities, attacks, and tools covered in the curriculum.
The course prepares students for the GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT) certification exam, which validates their knowledge and skills in web application penetration testing.
Web Application Penetration Testing Methodology
One of the main goals of Sans Sec 542 is to teach students a detailed, four-step methodology for web application penetration testing. The methodology consists of the following phases:
Reconnaissance
The first phase of web application penetration testing is reconnaissance, where the tester gathers information about the target web application and its environment. This phase helps the tester to understand the scope, functionality, architecture, technologies, and vulnerabilities of the web application. Some of the tasks performed in this phase are:
Identifying the web applications domain name, IP address, hosting provider, and geolocation.
Enumerating the web applications subdomains, directories, files, parameters, and comments.
Determining the web applications platform, framework, server, database, and other components.
Fingerprinting the web applications version, configuration, and patch level.
Discovering the web applications users, roles, accounts, and credentials.
Collecting the web applications cookies, tokens, headers, and other metadata.
Mapping
The second phase of web application penetration testing is mapping, where the tester identifies the web applications structure, functionality, and technologies. This phase helps the tester to understand how the web application works, how it interacts with users and other systems, and how it can be manipulated. Some of the tasks performed in this phase are:
Mapping the web applications navigation, workflow, and business logic.
Identifying the web applications entry points, inputs, outputs, and error messages.
Analyzing the web applications client-side code, such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Flash, Java applets, etc.
Intercepting and modifying the web traffic between the client and the server using tools like Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) and Burp Suite.
Identifying the web applications hidden or restricted features and functions.
Identifying the web applications security mechanisms and controls, such as encryption, authentication, authorization, captcha, etc.
Discovery
The third phase of web application penetration testing is discovery, where the tester finds and exploits common web application vulnerabilities. This phase helps the tester to assess the security posture of the web application and demonstrate the potential impact of an attack. Some of the tasks performed in this phase are:
Scanning the web application for vulnerabilities using tools like Nmap, Nikto, Wfuzz, etc.
Exploiting injection flaws such as SQL injection (SQLi), command injection (CMDi), local file inclusion (LFI), remote file inclusion (RFI), etc. using tools like sqlmap or manual techniques.
Exploiting cross-site scripting (XSS) flaws to inject malicious code into web pages and execute it on the victims browser using tools like BeEF or manual techniques.
Exploiting cross-site request forgery (CSRF) flaws to trick users into performing unwanted actions on a web application using tools like Burp Suite or manual techniques.
Exploiting broken authentication and session management flaws to compromise user accounts and sessions using tools like Hydra or manual techniques.
Exploiting insecure direct object references (IDOR) and access control flaws to access unauthorized resources and functions using tools like Burp Suite or manual techniques.
Exploiting sensitive data exposure flaws to steal or modify confidential information using tools like Burp Suite or manual techniques.
Exploiting other web application attacks such as brute force, denial-of-service (DoS), clickjacking, XML external entity (XXE), etc. using tools like Metasploit or manual techniques.
Exploitation
The fourth phase of web application penetration testing is exploitation, where the tester leverages the discovered vulnerabilities to achieve their goals. This phase helps the tester to demonstrate the business impact of an attack and provide recommendations for remediation. Some of the tasks performed in this phase are:
Escalating privileges and gaining access to the web server, database server, or other systems.
Extracting sensitive data such as user credentials, personal information, financial records, etc.
Modifying data such as adding, deleting, or altering records, transactions, etc.
Executing commands or code on the target system or network.
Pivoting to other systems or networks within the same or different domain.
Maintaining persistence and creating backdoors for future access.
Cleaning up traces and evidence of the attack.
Documenting and reporting the findings, evidence, impact, and recommendations.
Web Application Vulnerabilities and Attacks
In this section, we will briefly introduce some of the common web application vulnerabilities and attacks that are covered in Sans Sec 542. These are not exhaustive lists, but rather examples of what students can expect to learn and practice in the course.
Injection flaws
Injection flaws occur when user-supplied data is directly interpreted or executed by the web application or its backend components. This allows an attacker to inject malicious commands or queries that can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the system. Some of the common injection flaws are:
SQL injection (SQLi): This flaw allows an attacker to inject SQL statements into a web application that interacts with a database. This can result in data extraction, data modification, authentication bypass, command execution, etc.
Command injection (CMDi): This flaw allows an attacker to inject operating system commands into a web application that executes them on the server. This can result in remote code execution, privilege escalation, file access, etc.
File inclusion (FI): This flaw allows an attacker to include local or remote files into a web application that processes them as code. This can result in remote code execution, file disclosure, etc.
Cross-site scripting (XSS)
Cross-site scripting (XSS) occurs when user-supplied data is reflected or stored by a web application and then rendered as HTML or JavaScript by a browser. This allows an attacker to inject malicious code into web pages that can execute on the victims browser. This can result in session hijacking, cookie stealing, phishing, keylogging, etc.
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) occurs when a web application does not verify the origin or intention of a request. This allows an attacker to trick a user into performing unwanted actions on a web application that they are already authenticated with. This can result in account takeover, data modification, funds transfer, etc.
Broken authentication and session management
Broken authentication and session management occurs when a web application does not properly implement mechanisms for verifying the identity and state of users. This allows an attacker to compromise user accounts and sessions by exploiting weak passwords, predictable session IDs, insecure cookies, etc.
Insecure direct object references and access control
Insecure direct object references and access control occurs when a web application does not properly enforce authorization checks for resources and functions. This allows an attacker to access unauthorized resources and functions by manipulating parameters, URLs, headers, etc.
Security misconfiguration
Security misconfiguration occurs when a web application or its components are not configured securely. This allows an attacker to exploit common configuration errors and weaknesses such as default credentials, verbose error messages, unnecessary services, insecure headers, etc.
Sensitive data exposure
Sensitive data exposure occurs when a web application does not protect confidential information from unauthorized access or modification. This allows an attacker to steal or modify sensitive data such as user credentials, personal information, financial records, etc. by exploiting weak encryption, insecure transmission, improper storage, etc.
Other web application attacks
Other web application attacks are those that do not fall into the previous categories, but are still relevant and important for web application penetration testing. Some of the other web application attacks are:
Brute force: This attack involves trying different combinations of usernames and passwords to guess the correct credentials for a web application.
Denial-of-service (DoS): This attack involves sending a large amount of requests or data to a web application to exhaust its resources and make it unavailable for legitimate users.
Clickjacking: This attack involves overlaying a transparent or hidden layer on top of a web page to trick users into clicking on something they did not intend to.
XML external entity (XXE): This attack involves injecting external entities into XML documents that are processed by a web application. This can result in data disclosure, remote code execution, denial-of-service, etc.
Web Application Penetration Testing Tools
In this section, we will briefly introduce some of the common tools for web application penetration testing that are covered in Sans Sec 542. These are not exhaustive lists, but rather examples of what students can expect to learn and use in the course.
Interception proxies
Interception proxies are tools that allow testers to intercept and manipulate the web traffic between the client and the server. They can be used to analyze, modify, repeat, or drop requests and responses, as well as to perform various attacks such as XSS, CSRF, SQLi, etc. Some of the common interception proxies are:
Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP): This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as spidering, scanning, fuzzing, scripting, etc.
Burp Suite: This is a commercial tool that provides features such as spidering, scanning, intruder, repeater, sequencer, decoder, etc.
Automated scanners
Automated scanners are tools that allow testers to scan web applications for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. They can be used to identify common flaws such as injection flaws, XSS, CSRF, broken authentication and session management, security misconfiguration, sensitive data exposure, etc. Some of the common automated scanners are:
Nmap: This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as port scanning, service detection, version detection, OS detection, etc.
Nikto: This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as vulnerability scanning, misconfiguration detection, outdated software detection, etc.
Wfuzz: This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as brute forcing, directory discovery, parameter discovery, etc.
Exploitation frameworks
, etc. Some of the common exploitation frameworks are:
Metasploit: This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as exploit modules, payload modules, auxiliary modules, post-exploitation modules, etc.
sqlmap: This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as SQL injection detection, exploitation, database fingerprinting, data dumping, etc.
BeEF: This is a free and open source tool that provides features such as XSS hooking, browser exploitation, network exploitation, etc.
Scripting languages
Scripting languages are tools that allow testers to create testing and exploitation scripts during a penetration test. They can be used to automate tasks, perform custom attacks, interact with web applications or backend components, etc. Some of the common scripting languages are:
Python: This is a free and open source language that provides features such as easy syntax, rich libraries, web frameworks, etc.
Ruby: This is a free and open source language that provides features such as dynamic typing, metaprogramming, web frameworks, etc.
Perl: This is a free and open source language that provides features such as regular expressions, text processing, web frameworks, etc.
Web Application Penetration Testing Capture-the-Flag Exercise
The final day of Sans Sec 542 is dedicated to a web application penetration testing capture-the-flag exercise. This is a practical and realistic scenario where students can apply the learned skills and techniques to solve various challenges. The exercise consists of the following:
Description
The exercise involves a fictional company called Initech that has hired you to perform a web application penetration test on their online banking system. The system consists of several web applications that provide different functionalities and services to the customers and employees of Initech. Your goal is to find and exploit as many vulnerabilities as possible in the system and demonstrate the business impact of an attack. You will be given access to a virtual machine that contains all the tools and resources you need for the exercise. You will also be given a list of objectives that you need to complete in order to score points. The objectives range from easy to hard and cover different aspects of web application penetration testing such as reconnaissance, mapping, discovery, exploitation, etc.
Tips and tricks
The exercise is designed to be challenging but not impossible. You will need to use your creativity, logic, and persistence to solve the challenges. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you succeed in the exercise:
Follow the methodology: Remember the four-step methodology for web application penetration testing: reconnaissance, mapping, discovery, and exploitation. Use it as a guide to plan your approach and organize your findings.
Use the tools: You have access to a variety of tools for web application penetration testing in your virtual machine. Use them wisely and effectively to perform different tasks and attacks. Don't rely on one tool only; try different tools or combinations of tools for different situations.
Use the resources: You have access to a variety of resources for web application penetration testing in your virtual machine. Use them as references and guides to learn more about web application vulnerabilities, attacks, and techniques. Don't hesitate to search online for more information or help if you get stuck.
Use your skills: You have learned a lot of skills and techniques for web application penetration testing in Sans Sec 542. Use them creatively and intelligently to solve the challenges. Don't be afraid to try new things or experiment with different ideas.
Have fun: The exercise is meant to be fun and engaging. Enjoy the process of learning and hacking. Don't get frustrated or discouraged if you encounter difficulties or failures; learn from them and move on.
Conclusion
, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), broken authentication and session management, insecure direct object references and access control, security misconfiguration, sensitive data exposure, and more. The course also teaches students how to use various tools for web application penetration testing such as interception proxies, automated scanners, exploitation frameworks, and scripting languages. The course culminates with a web application penetration testing capture-the-flag exercise where students can apply the learned skills and techniques to solve realistic challenges.
By taking Sans Sec 542, students can learn or improve their web application penetration testing skills and prepare for the GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT) certification exam. The course is suitable for anyone who wants to become a better web application penetration tester, such as security professionals, web developers, web administrators, auditors, etc.
Web application penetration testing is a vital skill for every modern organization that relies on web applications for its business functionality and data access. By performing web application penetration testing, organizations can identify and fix the security flaws in their web apps before adversaries can exploit them and cause damage. Sans Sec 542 is a course that can help you achieve this goal and become