Application security

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Application security (short AppSec) includes all tasks that introduce a secure software development life cycle to development teams. Its final goal is to improve security practices and, through that, to find, fix and preferably prevent security issues within applications. It encompasses the whole application life cycle from requirements analysis, design, implementation, verification as well as maintenance. [1]

Contents

Web application security is a branch of information security that deals specifically with the security of websites, web applications, and web services. At a high level, web application security draws on the principles of application security but applies them specifically to the internet and web systems. [2] [3] The application security also concentrates on mobile apps and their security which includes iOS and Android Applications

Web Application Security Tools are specialized tools for working with HTTP traffic, e.g., Web application firewalls.

Approaches

Different approaches will find different subsets of the security vulnerabilities lurking in an application and are most effective at different times in the software lifecycle. They each represent different tradeoffs of time, effort, cost and vulnerabilities found.

Security threats

The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) provides free and open resources. It is led by a non-profit called The OWASP Foundation. The OWASP Top 10 - 2017 results from recent research based on comprehensive data compiled from over 40 partner organizations. This data revealed approximately 2.3 million vulnerabilities across over 50,000 applications. [4] According to the OWASP Top 10 - 2021, the ten most critical web application security risks include: [5]

  1. Broken access control
  2. Cryptographic failures
  3. Injection
  4. Insecure design
  5. Security misconfiguration
  6. Vulnerable and outdated components
  7. Identification and authentification failures
  8. Software and data integrity failures
  9. Security logging and monitoring failures*
  10. Server-side request forgery (SSRF)*

Security controls

The OWASP Top 10 Proactive Controls 2024 is a list of security techniques every software architect and developer should know and heed.

The current list contains:

  1. Implement access control
  2. Use cryptography the proper way
  3. Validate all input & handle exceptions
  4. Address security from the start
  5. Secure by default configurations
  6. Keep your components secure
  7. Implement digital identity
  8. Use browser security features
  9. Implement security logging and monitoring
  10. Stop server-side request forgery

Tooling for security testing

Security testing techniques scour for vulnerabilities or security holes in applications. These vulnerabilities leave applications open to exploitation. Ideally, security testing is implemented throughout the entire software development life cycle (SDLC) so that vulnerabilities may be addressed in a timely and thorough manner.

There are many kinds of automated tools for identifying vulnerabilities in applications. Common tool categories used for identifying application vulnerabilities include:

Security standards and regulations

See also

Related Research Articles

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A penetration test, colloquially known as a pentest, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system; this is not to be confused with a vulnerability assessment. The test is performed to identify weaknesses, including the potential for unauthorized parties to gain access to the system's features and data, as well as strengths, enabling a full risk assessment to be completed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuzzing</span> Automated software testing technique

In programming and software development, fuzzing or fuzz testing is an automated software testing technique that involves providing invalid, unexpected, or random data as inputs to a computer program. The program is then monitored for exceptions such as crashes, failing built-in code assertions, or potential memory leaks. Typically, fuzzers are used to test programs that take structured inputs. This structure is specified, e.g., in a file format or protocol and distinguishes valid from invalid input. An effective fuzzer generates semi-valid inputs that are "valid enough" in that they are not directly rejected by the parser, but do create unexpected behaviors deeper in the program and are "invalid enough" to expose corner cases that have not been properly dealt with.

The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) is an online community that produces freely available articles, methodologies, documentation, tools, and technologies in the fields of IoT, system software and web application security. The OWASP provides free and open resources. It is led by a non-profit called The OWASP Foundation. The OWASP Top 10 - 2021 is the published result of recent research based on comprehensive data compiled from over 40 partner organizations.

Software assurance (SwA) is a critical process in software development that ensures the reliability, safety, and security of software products. It involves a variety of activities, including requirements analysis, design reviews, code inspections, testing, and formal verification. One crucial component of software assurance is secure coding practices, which follow industry-accepted standards and best practices, such as those outlined by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in their CERT Secure Coding Standards (SCS).

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Software security assurance is a process that helps design and implement software that protects the data and resources contained in and controlled by that software. Software is itself a resource and thus must be afforded appropriate security.

Dynamic application security testing (DAST) represents a non-functional testing process to identify security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in an application. This testing process can be carried out either manually or by using automated tools. Manual assessment of an application involves human intervention to identify the security flaws which might slip from an automated tool. Usually business logic errors, race condition checks, and certain zero-day vulnerabilities can only be identified using manual assessments.

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w3af Open-source web application security scanner

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A web application firewall (WAF) is a specific form of application firewall that filters, monitors, and blocks HTTP traffic to and from a web service. By inspecting HTTP traffic, it can prevent attacks exploiting a web application's known vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), file inclusion, and improper system configuration. Most of the major financial institutions utilize WAFs to help in the mitigation of web application 'zero-day' vulnerabilities, as well as hard to patch bugs or weaknesses through custom attack signature strings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZAP (software)</span> Open-source web application security scanner

ZAP is a dynamic application security testing tool published under the Apache License. When used as a proxy server it allows the user to manipulate all of the traffic that passes through it, including HTTPS encrypted traffic. It can also run in a daemon mode which is then controlled via a REST-based API.

Code Dx, Inc. was an American software technology company active from 2015 to 2021. The company's flagship product, Code Dx, is a vulnerability management system that combines and correlates the results generated by a wide variety of static and dynamic testing tools. In 2021, the company was acquired by Synopsys.

Runtime application self-protection (RASP) is a security technology that uses runtime instrumentation to detect and block computer attacks by taking advantage of information from inside the running software. The technology differs from perimeter-based protections such as firewalls, that can only detect and block attacks by using network information without contextual awareness. RASP technology is said to improve the security of software by monitoring its inputs, and blocking those that could allow attacks, while protecting the runtime environment from unwanted changes and tampering. RASP-protected applications rely less on external devices like firewalls to provide runtime security protection. When a threat is detected RASP can prevent exploitation and possibly take other actions, including terminating a user's session, shutting the application down, alerting security personnel and sending a warning to the user. RASP aims to close the gap left by application security testing and network perimeter controls, neither of which have enough insight into real-time data and event flows to either prevent vulnerabilities slipping through the review process or block new threats that were unforeseen during development.

Static application security testing (SAST) is used to secure software by reviewing the source code of the software to identify sources of vulnerabilities. Although the process of statically analyzing the source code has existed as long as computers have existed, the technique spread to security in the late 90s and the first public discussion of SQL injection in 1998 when Web applications integrated new technologies like JavaScript and Flash.

Interactive application security testing is a security testing method that detects software vulnerabilities by interaction with the program coupled with observation and sensors. The tool was launched by several application security companies. It is distinct from static application security testing, which does not interact with the program, and dynamic application security testing, which considers the program as a black box. It may be considered a mix of both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burp Suite</span> Web security software

Burp Suite is a proprietary software tool for security assessment and penetration testing of web applications. It was initially developed in 2003-2006 by Dafydd Stuttard to automate his own security testing needs, after realizing the capabilities of automatable web tools like Selenium. Stuttard created the company PortSwigger to flagship Burp Suite's development. A community, professional, and enterprise version of this product are available.

References

  1. ↑ Happe, Andreas (3 June 2021). "What is AppSec anyways?". snikt.net.
  2. ↑ "Web Application Security Overview". 2015-10-23.
  3. ↑ Shuaibu, Bala Musa; Norwawi, Norita Md; Selamat, Mohd Hasan; Al-Alwani, Abdulkareem (2013-01-17). "Systematic review of web application security development model". Artificial Intelligence Review. 43 (2): 259–276. doi:10.1007/s10462-012-9375-6. ISSN   0269-2821. S2CID   15221613.
  4. ↑ Korolov, Maria (Apr 27, 2017). "Latest OWASP Top 10 looks at APIs, web apps: The new OWASP Top 10 list is out, and while most of it remains the same, there are new additions focusing on web applications and APIs". CSO. ProQuest   1892694046.
  5. ↑ "OWASP Top 10 - 2021: The Ten Most Critical Web Application Security Risks". Open Web Application Security Project. 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Web Application Vulnerability Scanners". NIST.
  7. ↑ "Fuzzing". OWASP.
  8. ↑ Williams, Jeff (2 July 2015). "I Understand SAST and DAST But What is an IAST and Why Does it Matter?". Contrast Security. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  9. ↑ Velasco, Roberto (7 May 2020). "What is IAST? All About Interactive Application Security Testing". Hdiv Security. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Abezgauz, Irene (February 17, 2014). "Introduction to Interactive Application Security Testing". Quotium. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  11. ↑ Rohr, Matthias (November 26, 2015). "IAST: A New Approach For Agile Security Testing". Secodis.
  12. ↑ "OWASP Application Security Verification Standard".


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