Book Image

Kali Linux Web Penetration Testing Cookbook - Second Edition

By : Gilberto Najera-Gutierrez
Book Image

Kali Linux Web Penetration Testing Cookbook - Second Edition

By: Gilberto Najera-Gutierrez

Overview of this book

Web applications are a huge point of attack for malicious hackers and a critical area for security professionals and penetration testers to lock down and secure. Kali Linux is a Linux-based penetration testing platform that provides a broad array of testing tools, many of which can be used to execute web penetration testing. Kali Linux Web Penetration Testing Cookbook gives you the skills you need to cover every stage of a penetration test – from gathering information about the system and application, to identifying vulnerabilities through manual testing. You will also cover the use of vulnerability scanners and look at basic and advanced exploitation techniques that may lead to a full system compromise. You will start by setting up a testing laboratory, exploring the latest features of tools included in Kali Linux and performing a wide range of tasks with OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite and other web proxies and security testing tools. As you make your way through the book, you will learn how to use automated scanners to find security ?aws in web applications and understand how to bypass basic security controls. In the concluding chapters, you will look at what you have learned in the context of the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) and the top 10 web application vulnerabilities you are most likely to encounter, equipping you with the ability to combat them effectively. By the end of this book, you will have acquired the skills you need to identify, exploit, and prevent web application vulnerabilities.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)

A4 – Using XML external entities securely

XML external entity (XXE) attacks have gained popularity in the last few years, so that they now appear in the fourth position of the OWASP Top 10 2017. XML entity-related vulnerabilities are used by attackers mainly to retrieve information from the target system and remotely execute code or system commands (XXE Injection), or to cause the interruption of services (XXE Expansion).

In this recipe, we will provide some suggestions on what to do when building a web application to prevent including vulnerabilities in the processing of XML external entities.

How to do it...

  1. If possible, avoid the use of XML and prefer less complex formats, such as JSON.
  2. If XML use is mandatory,...