Book Image

Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux - Third Edition

By : Gilberto Najera-Gutierrez, Juned Ahmed Ansari
Book Image

Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux - Third Edition

By: Gilberto Najera-Gutierrez, Juned Ahmed Ansari

Overview of this book

Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux - Third Edition shows you how to set up a lab, helps you understand the nature and mechanics of attacking websites, and explains classical attacks in great depth. This edition is heavily updated for the latest Kali Linux changes and the most recent attacks. Kali Linux shines when it comes to client-side attacks and fuzzing in particular. From the start of the book, you'll be given a thorough grounding in the concepts of hacking and penetration testing, and you'll see the tools used in Kali Linux that relate to web application hacking. You'll gain a deep understanding of classicalSQL, command-injection flaws, and the many ways to exploit these flaws. Web penetration testing also needs a general overview of client-side attacks, which is rounded out by a long discussion of scripting and input validation flaws. There is also an important chapter on cryptographic implementation flaws, where we discuss the most recent problems with cryptographic layers in the networking stack. The importance of these attacks cannot be overstated, and defending against them is relevant to most internet users and, of course, penetration testers. At the end of the book, you'll use an automated technique called fuzzing to identify flaws in a web application. Finally, you'll gain an understanding of web application vulnerabilities and the ways they can be exploited using the tools in Kali Linux.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Dedication
Packt Upsell
Contributors
Preface
Index

Chapter 3. Reconnaissance and Profiling the Web Server

Over the years, malicious attackers have found various ways to penetrate a system. They gather information about the target, identify vulnerabilities, and then unleash an attack. Once inside the target, they try to hide their tracks and remain hidden. The attacker may not necessarily follow the same sequence as we do, but as a penetration tester, following the approach suggested here will help you conduct the assessment in a structured way; also, the data collected at each stage will aid in preparing a report that is of value to your client. An attacker's aim is ultimately to own your system; so, they might not follow any sequential methodology to do this. As a penetration tester, your aim is to identify as many bugs as you can; therefore, following a logical methodology is really useful. Moreover, you need to be creative and think outside the box.

The following are the different stages of a penetration test:

  • Reconnaissance: This involves...