Nee, dit gaat niet over een in cirkeltjes rondzoemende wesp uit Silicon Valley, maar over the Open Web Application Security Project. Met het mission statement van http://www.owasp.org/ schiet je al wat meer op bij het begrijpen van deze obscure afkorting. Daar lezen we in een Wiki-achtige layout namelijk:
“[OWASP] is a worldwide free and open community focused on improving the security of application software. Our mission is to make application security visible, so that people and organizations can make informed decisions about true application security risks.”Het meest bekend is OWASP van de “Top 10”, een lijst met de tien belangrijkste kwetsbaarheden in (o.a. Java Enterprise Edition) web-applicaties. Deze lijst is behoorlijk pragmatisch tot stand gekomen, wat een goed gevoel geeft. Het gaat niet om zuiver theoretische chasing-a-once-in-a-million-cases, maar om heel concrete zaken die (te) regelmatig fout gaan bij de beveiliging (en dus ontwerp en ontwikkeling) van een webapplicatie. OWASP maakt elke paar jaar een nieuwe versie van de Top 10, uiteraard steeds pas wanneer de omstandigheden voldoende veranderd zijn. De huidige versie is die van 2007, en ten opzichte van 2004 (de vorige versie) zijn er wat items van de lijst verdwenen (o.a. buffer overflows), en wat andere toegevoegd.
Aandacht voor zaken op de OWASP Top 10 tijdens het hele ontwerp- en ontwikkelproces zorgt voor betere, veiligere, en, uiteindelijk, goedkopere webapplicaties, in elk geval qua total-cost-of-ownership. Soms is een OWASP-check min of meer verplicht, bijvoorbeeld om een PCI-DSS “audit” door te komen. De kans op grootschalig misbruik van je applicatie is dan wellicht niet zo groot (tenzij je Amazon, Ebay, Rabobank of PayPal heet natuurlijk), maar *als* het mis gaat zijn de gevolgen ook voor kleinere sites niet makkelijk te overzien.
De Top 10, versie 2007 (tromgeroffel! Uiteraard schaamteloos onder Creative Commons geript van de Wiki van het nogal trage OWASP.org zelf):
A1 - Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
XSS flaws occur whenever an application takes user supplied data and sends it to a web browser without first validating or encoding that content. XSS allows attackers to execute script in the victim's browser which can hijack user sessions, deface web sites, possibly introduce worms, etc.
A2 - Injection Flaws
Injection flaws, particularly SQL injection, are common in web applications. Injection occurs when user-supplied data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. The attacker's hostile data tricks the interpreter into executing unintended commands or changing data.
A3 - Malicious File Execution
Code vulnerable to remote file inclusion (RFI) allows attackers to include hostile code and data, resulting in devastating attacks, such as total server compromise. Malicious file execution attacks affect PHP, XML and any framework which accepts filenames or files from users.
A4 - Insecure Direct Object Reference
A direct object reference occurs when a developer exposes a reference to an internal implementation object, such as a file, directory, database record, or key, as a URL or form parameter. Attackers can manipulate those references to access other objects without authorization.
A5 - Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
A CSRF attack forces a logged-on victim's browser to send a pre-authenticated request to a vulnerable web application, which then forces the victim's browser to perform a hostile action to the benefit of the attacker. CSRF can be as powerful as the web application that it attacks.
A6 - Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling
Applications can unintentionally leak information about their configuration, internal workings, or violate privacy through a variety of application problems. Attackers use this weakness to steal sensitive data, or conduct more serious attacks.
A7 - Broken Authentication and Session Management
Account credentials and session tokens are often not properly protected. Attackers compromise passwords, keys, or authentication tokens to assume other users' identities.
A8 - Insecure Cryptographic Storage
Web applications rarely use cryptographic functions properly to protect data and credentials. Attackers use weakly protected data to conduct identity theft and other crimes, such as credit card fraud.
A9 - Insecure Communications
Applications frequently fail to encrypt network traffic when it is necessary to protect sensitive communications.
A10 - Failure to Restrict URL Access
Frequently, an application only protects sensitive functionality by preventing the display of links or URLs to unauthorized users. Attackers can use this weakness to access and perform unauthorized operations by accessing those URLs directly.
XSS flaws occur whenever an application takes user supplied data and sends it to a web browser without first validating or encoding that content. XSS allows attackers to execute script in the victim's browser which can hijack user sessions, deface web sites, possibly introduce worms, etc.
A2 - Injection Flaws
Injection flaws, particularly SQL injection, are common in web applications. Injection occurs when user-supplied data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. The attacker's hostile data tricks the interpreter into executing unintended commands or changing data.
A3 - Malicious File Execution
Code vulnerable to remote file inclusion (RFI) allows attackers to include hostile code and data, resulting in devastating attacks, such as total server compromise. Malicious file execution attacks affect PHP, XML and any framework which accepts filenames or files from users.
A4 - Insecure Direct Object Reference
A direct object reference occurs when a developer exposes a reference to an internal implementation object, such as a file, directory, database record, or key, as a URL or form parameter. Attackers can manipulate those references to access other objects without authorization.
A5 - Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
A CSRF attack forces a logged-on victim's browser to send a pre-authenticated request to a vulnerable web application, which then forces the victim's browser to perform a hostile action to the benefit of the attacker. CSRF can be as powerful as the web application that it attacks.
A6 - Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling
Applications can unintentionally leak information about their configuration, internal workings, or violate privacy through a variety of application problems. Attackers use this weakness to steal sensitive data, or conduct more serious attacks.
A7 - Broken Authentication and Session Management
Account credentials and session tokens are often not properly protected. Attackers compromise passwords, keys, or authentication tokens to assume other users' identities.
A8 - Insecure Cryptographic Storage
Web applications rarely use cryptographic functions properly to protect data and credentials. Attackers use weakly protected data to conduct identity theft and other crimes, such as credit card fraud.
A9 - Insecure Communications
Applications frequently fail to encrypt network traffic when it is necessary to protect sensitive communications.
A10 - Failure to Restrict URL Access
Frequently, an application only protects sensitive functionality by preventing the display of links or URLs to unauthorized users. Attackers can use this weakness to access and perform unauthorized operations by accessing those URLs directly.
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