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CH 8

This document discusses attacking access controls in web applications. It covers common vulnerabilities like vertical and horizontal privilege escalation. It also discusses testing access controls and best practices for implementing secure access controls.

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avinash.21bce7279
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26 views32 pages

CH 8

This document discusses attacking access controls in web applications. It covers common vulnerabilities like vertical and horizontal privilege escalation. It also discusses testing access controls and best practices for implementing secure access controls.

Uploaded by

avinash.21bce7279
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CNIT 129S: Securing

Web Applications

Ch 8: Attacking Access Controls


Access Control
• Authentication and session management
• Ensure that you know who is using the
application
• Access Controls
• Limit what actions are possible for
authenticated users
• Must be tested for every request and
operation
Common Vulnerabilities

• Vertical

• Horizontal

• Context-dependent
Vertical Privilege Escalation

• Allow user to access a different part of the


application's functionality

• Such as escalating from User to Administrator


Horizontal Privilege
Escalation

• Allow a user to access a wider range of


resources of the same type

• Such as reading another user's email


Context-Dependent:
Business Logic Exploitation

• User can do things that should not be possible


in context

• Such as performing tasks out of order

• Or bypassing the payment step when


checking out
Completely Unprotected
Functionality
• Functionality can be accessed by anyone who
knows the URL

• OWASP calls this "Unsecured Direct Object


Access"

• Also called "security through obscurity"


Finding Privileged URLs
• App may not contain any link to the URLs

• Inspecting client-side code may reveal them


Identifier-Based Functions
• Identifier for a document passed to server in a
parameter

• Access controls may be broken so everyone


with the URL can view the document

• This happens when developers find it too


difficult to share a session-based security
model between servers using different
technologies
Identifier-Based Functions

• Document identifiers might be predictable

• Such as simple incrementing numbers

• URLs are not treated as secrets

• Often visible to attackers in logs, or elsewhere


within an app
Multistage Functions
Select Enter
Select Select
"New User" username
Dept. Role
Function & password

• App may enforce access control for an early


step, but not test it again at a later step

• So attacker can skip steps and escalate


privileges
Static Files
• Customers pay for a book, and then are sent to
a download link like this

• It's a static resource, downloaded directly from


the Web server

• No application-level code is executed

• Anyone with the URL can download the book


Platform Misconfiguration
• Access to specified URL paths are restricted

• Ex: only Administrators can access the /admin


path
Verb Tampering
• Access control rule may only apply to the POST
method
• Using GET may allow a non-administrator to
perform admin-level tasks
• Also, the HEAD method is often implemented
internally on the Web server with the GET method
• And then just returning only the headers
• So an admin function is still performed
• Unrecognized HTTP methods may default to GET
Insecure Access Control
Methods

• Parameter-based access control

• Referer-based access control

• Location-based access control


Parameter-Based
Access Control

• Privilege level in a hidden form field, cookie, or


query string parameter

• Attacker can just add the parameter to gain


privileges
Referer-Based
Access Control

• HTTP Referer header grants access

• User can modify that field to gain privileges


Location-Based
Access Control
• Location restrictions, as in sports events

• Often uses geolocation of user's IP address

• Common methods of bypass:


Testing with Different User
Accounts

• Burp can map the contents of an application


using two user accounts and compare them
Testing Direct Access to
Methods
• You may be able to guess other methods from the
ones you see
• Test them to see if access is properly limited
• This request indicates use of the IBM HTTP Server
(link Ch 8a)
Testing Controls Over Static
Resources
• Walk through the app while logged in as
Administrator
• Note the URLs of high-privilege resources
• Log in as a low-privilege user
• Return to those URLs to see if you can still
access them
• If you can, try to guess other sensitive URLS
from the pattern of the ones you have found
Testing Restrictions on HTTP
Methods

• Log in as Administrator

• Find sensitive requests

• Try other methods: POST, GET, HEAD, invalid

• If other methods are honored, test them with a


low-privilege account
Securing Access Controls
• Don't rely on user's ignorance of URLS or
identifiers like document ID2

• Don't trust any user-supplied parameters like


admin=true

• Don't assume users will access pages in the


intended sequence

• Don't trust the user not to tamper with data;


revalidate it before using it
Best Practices
• Explicitly evaluate and document access control
requirements for every unit of application
functionality

• Drive all access control decisions from the


user's session

• Use a central application component to check


access controls; use it for every client request;
mandate that every page must include an
interface to this component
Best Practices
• For particularly sensitive functionality, further
restrict access by IP address

• Protect static content by

• Passing filename to a server-side page that


implements access control logic, or

• Use HTTP authentication or other features of


the application server to restrict access
Best Practices
• Don't trust resource identifiers from the client--
validate them on the server

• Consider requiring re-authentication or two-


factor authentication for security-critical
application functions, such as creating a new
payee

• Log events using sensitive data or actions


Advantages of Central
Access Control
Multilayered Privileges

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