The internet is part of everyone’s day-to-day life, and every organization needs to make its presence on the web. Thus, web applications come into play as people can get almost any service or information regarding the company. The web application is so much in demand, which ultimately increases the requirement for a proper level of web security. 

One of the most constraining issues with web applications is the security risks associated with them. Companies can encounter severe damages due to web applications attacks, such as financial & reputational losses, confidential data losses.

Therefore, it is essential to understand the latest web application vulnerabilities, so companies can safeguard their applications from cyber-attacks.

In this article, we will consider the top 10 most common web application security attacks.

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Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) 

A cross-Site Scripting attack, commonly known as an XSS attack is a type of injection attack in which the attacker injects malicious scripts into trusted websites. This attack uses a web application to send malicious code, generally a browser side script, to a different end-user. 

The vulnerabilities that allow these attacks to occur are in the form of user input, such as online form, where the output is generated without validating or encoding the data. 

SQL Injection Attacks

SQL injection is one of the most commonly recognized web security vulnerabilities. In this attack, the attacker injects their SQL commands into the SQL queries of the web application database that intervenes with the original predefined SQL commands and makes hackers be able to view the data. 

Not only it makes the data visible to attackers but can also provide them the ability to modify or delete this data, causing unnecessary changes to the application’s content or behavior.

Broken Authentication and Session Management 

Many websites assign a unique session ID as a key to the user’s identity on the server which allows the visitor to stay logged in inside the web application for that particular session.  If these sessions are not properly and securely initiated that can result in a broken authentication and session that may allow the attacker to impersonate a valid user.

Sensitive Data Exposure

When a web application does not protect sensitive information from being disclosed to attackers appropriately, it can cause Sensitive Data Exposure vulnerabilities to occur in that application. 

The sensitive information that is at the risk of potential exposure is credit card data, medical history, session tokens, or other authentication credentials.

Missing Function Level Access Control

The missing function-level access control vulnerability occurs due to faulty authorization logic. When the authentication checks in request handlers are insufficient, an attacker, who could also be an existing user of the application, can intrude in the access restricted functionalities of the application. 

Security Misconfiguration

Security Misconfiguration vulnerabilities arise when security controls of a server or web application fail to be implemented. Sometimes companies implement security controls to create a safe environment for their users but the gaps or errors in that process leave the users open to risks. 

Insecure Direct Object References

Insecure direct object references (IDOR) are an access control vulnerability that occurs when an application uses a user-defined input to direct access to an internal implementation object without providing any additional access control or authorization checks.

In this attack, the application fails to authenticate if an authorized user has requested the access object for which the reference is present in the request URL.

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Attacks

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) is a type of web application security vulnerability that causes users to perform unwanted actions. This attack allows attackers to partially bypass the same-origin policy, which is developed for preventing different websites from conflicting with each other.

Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities

These are the web application vulnerable components that can be recognized and exploited with automated tools, opening the threat agent pool beyond targeted attackers to include concerned characters. 

Such vulnerabilities used within the app almost always execute with full privileges, risking the whole web application to potential security attacks. In this case, if a vulnerable element is exploited, it ends up making the hacker’s work easier to create a severe data loss or server takeover.

Insufficient Logging & Monitoring

Lack of monitoring, timely detection, and incident response can provide the opportunity for attackers to exploit cybersecurity. Insufficient logging and monitoring have been the significant cause of cyber incidents. This security vulnerability occurs when the system is not logged off or monitored properly.

In the End

It is difficult to maintain a high web app security level because such applications present the data on the internet, which makes companies vulnerable. If organizations and employees are aware of the potential web application security vulnerabilities then they can follow the measures to prevent such attacks from happening.

If you want to learn about these web application vulnerabilities in detail, you can pursue a Cyber Security Course by Krademy.