Beginner's Guide To Web Application Penetration Testing

ALI ABDOLLAHI is a cybersecurity researcher with over 12 years of experience. Currently, he is the application and offensive security manager at Canon EMEA. He studied computer engineering, published articles, and holds several professional certificates. Ali is a Microsoft MVP and regular speaker or trainer at industry conferences and events.

• Foreword xviiIntroduction xixChapter 1 Introduction to Web Application Penetration Testing 1The Importance of Web Application Security 3Overview of Web Application Penetration Testing 6The Penetration Testing Process 8Methodologies 12Tools and Techniques 14Reporting 16Types of Web Application Vulnerabilities 17Key Takeaways 25Chapter 2 Setting Up Your Penetration Testing Environment 27Setting Up Virtual Machines 28Container Option 29Kali Linux Installation 30PentestBox 34Installing DVWA 35OWASP Juice Shop 40Burp Suite 41OWASP ZED Attack Proxy 46WILEY Preconfigured Environment 49Key Takeaways 49Chapter 3 Reconnaissance and Information Gathering 51Passive Information Gathering 52Automating Subdomain Enumeration 61Active Information Gathering 64Open-Source Intelligence Gathering 77Key Takeaways 88Chapter 4 Cross-Site Scripting 89XSS Categories 90Reflected XSS 91Stored XSS 93Automatic User Session Hijacking 94Website Defacement Using XSS 96DOM-Based XSS 97Self-XSS 98Browser Exploitation Framework 100XSS Payloads and Bypasses 102XSS Mitigation Techniques 105Reflected XSS Bypass Techniques 107Stored XSS Bypass Technique 110Key Takeaways 112Chapter 5 SQL Injection 113What Is SQL Injection? 113Types of SQL Injection 114Error-Based SQL Injection 117Union-Based SQL Injection 117Blind SQL Injection 123SQLMap 126SQL Injection Payloads with ChatGPT 140SQL Injection Prevention 142Key Takeaways 145Chapter 6 Cross-Site Request Forgery 147Hunting CSRF Vulnerability 149CSRF Exploitation 149XSS and CSRF 151Clickjacking 152Generating an Effective Proof of Concept Using ChatGPT 154Tips for Developers 157Key Takeaways 158Chapter 7 Server-Side Attacks and Open Redirects 159Server-Side Request Forgery 159SSRF in Action 160SSRF Vulnerability 162Blind SSRF 164Local File Inclusion 166Remote File Inclusion 170Open Redirect 173Server-Side Attacks Differences 177Security Mitigations 178Key Takeaways 181Chapter 8 XML-Based Attacks 183XML Fundamentals 183XXE Exploitation 185Hunting XML Entry Points 187SSRF Using XXE 192DoS Using XXE 193XXE Payload and Exploitation with ChatGPT 195XML-Based Attacks Countermeasures 196Key Takeaways 198Chapter 9 Authentication and Authorization 201Password Cracking and Brute-Force Attacks 205Credential Stuffing Attack 211Password Spraying 213Password Spraying Using Burp Suite Intruder 214Other Automated Tools for Password Attacks 215JSON Web Token 223Key Takeaways 225Chapter 10 API Attacks 227OWASP API Top 10 228API Enumeration and Discovery 230API Discovery Using ChatGPT 231API Broken Object-Level Authorization Exploitation 235Rate Limiting 240API Penetration Testing Tools 242API Security Tips 244Key Takeaways 245Appendix A Best Practices and Standards 247Information Gathering 248Configuration and Deployment Management Testing 251Identity Management Testing 254Authentication Testing 256Authorization Testing 261Session Management Testing 265Input Validation Testing 273Testing for Error Handling 285Testing for Weak Cryptography 286Business Logic Testing 290Client-Side Testing 297Appendix B CWE and CVSS Score 307Base Score 308Temporal Score 308Environmental Score 309Appendix c Writing Effective and Comprehensive Penetration Testing Reports 311Table of Contents (ToC) 311Project History and Timeline 311Scope 312Testing Approach 312Executive Summary 312Industry Standard 312Findings Table 312Findings Details 313Key Takeaways 315Index 317