When I talk to people about application security, the most recognized topics is the OWASP Top 10. If you haven't heard of the top 10, or need a refresher, you can get the full list at: https://www.owasp.org/images/7/72/OWASP_Top_10-2017_%28en%29.pdf.pdf The OWASP Top 10 is on a three year update cycle. We had the list in 2010, 2013 and now the latest is 2017. You may be wondering why it is 2017 rather than 2016. I think that is a question a lot of people had. In any case, the list made it out … [Read more...] about OWASP 2017 Changes
secure development
Two-Factor Authentication Considerations
There was a recent article talking about how a very small percentage of google users actually use 2-factor authentication. You can read the full article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/17/no_one_uses_two_factor_authentication/ Why 2-Factor Two-factor authentication, or multi-factor authentication, is a valuable step in the process to protect accounts from unauthorized users. Traditionally, we have relied just on a username/password combination. That process had its own weaknesses that … [Read more...] about Two-Factor Authentication Considerations
Tinder Mobile Take-Aways
While browsing through the news I noticed an article talking about the Tinder mobile app and a privacy concern. You can read the article at https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/tinder-app-security-flaws-put-users-privacy-at-risk/. To summarize what is considered the issue is that the mobile application does not transmit the photos that you see using HTTPS. This means that anyone on the same connection can see the traffic and, ultimately, see the photos you are presented. From my … [Read more...] about Tinder Mobile Take-Aways
New Year’s Resolutions
Here we are, the start of another year. As we reflect on 2017, this is where we really start to focus on what lies ahead in 2018. The new year is always interesting because it usually doesn't affect our build cycles or releases. With the exception of accounting for vacations. Yet, this is the time of year where many people get re-focused and motivated to change old habits or try something new. Listen to the Podcast: As I look back on 2017, there were a lot of news headlines that focused … [Read more...] about New Year’s Resolutions
XSS in a Script Tag
Cross-site scripting is a pretty common vulnerability, even with many of the new advances in UI frameworks. One of the first things we mention when discussing the vulnerability is to understand the context. Is it HTML, Attribute, JavaScript, etc.? This understanding helps us better understand the types of characters that can be used to expose the vulnerability. In this post, I want to take a quick look at placing data within a <script> tag. In particular, I want to look at how embedded … [Read more...] about XSS in a Script Tag
JavaScript in an HREF or SRC Attribute
The anchor (<a>) HTML tag is commonly used to provide a clickable link for a user to navigate to another page. Did you know it is also possible to set the HREF attribute to execute JavaScript. A common technique is to use the onclick event of the anchor tab to execute a JavaScript method when the user clicks the link. However, to stop the browser from actually redirecting the HREF can be set to javascript:void(0);. This cancels the HREF functionality and allows the JavaScript from the … [Read more...] about JavaScript in an HREF or SRC Attribute