Exploiting Authentication Vulnerabilities
Applications, like servers and networks, rely upon authentication mechanisms to confirm the identity of users and devices and verify that they are authorized to perform specific actions. Attackers and penetration testers alike often seek to undermine the security of those authentication systems because, if they are able to do so, they may gain illegitimate access to systems, services, and information protected by that authentication infrastructure.
Password Authentication
Passwords are the most common form of authentication in use today, but unfortunately, they are also the most easily defeated. The reason for this is that passwords are a knowledge-based authentication technique. An attacker who learns a user’s password may then impersonate the user from that point forward until the password expires or is changed.
There are many ways that an attacker may learn a user’s password, ranging from technical to social. Here are just a...