The team identified vulnerabilities and compromised the application without administrator access or using known exploits, focusing on assessing the system’s security posture and protecting sensitive data.
Client
This case exemplifies the value of manual penetration testing. The team managed to compromise the application platform without administrator access, and without using known exploits or discovering deserialization and RCE flaws. The primary goal was to assess the system’s security posture and identify vulnerabilities that could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data.
Project Overview
A web-based application designed to securely manage digital records for a European Producer Responsibility Organization was assessed. The application handles sensitive documents, including corporate and financial information, necessitating robust security measures.
The Challenge
The penetration testing team was tasked with security assessments for both mobile and web applications. The scope was limited to publicly visible assets such as websites and mobile application front-ends.
The Approach
The team used a meticulous methodology, combining automated scanning tools and manual security assessments. Real-world attack scenarios were simulated to identify and exploit security weaknesses, particularly focusing on input validation and user interaction.
Initial Steps
During the initial steps, it was discovered that the web application shares its API with the mobile app. Mapping the API functionality revealed several helper requests that provided additional information. Notably, a request returning session attribute information allowed the team to model the authentication mechanism’s behavior.
Vulnerabilities and Mitigations
Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
- Vulnerability: A stored XSS vulnerability was found in the comment section. Malicious scripts could be injected and executed by users viewing the comments, potentially leading to data theft or session hijacking.
- Mitigation: Input validation and output encoding mechanisms were implemented, along with sanitization of user inputs.
HTML Injection
- Vulnerability: An HTML injection vulnerability was found in the user profile section, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary HTML code.
- Mitigation: Strict input validation and output encoding for user-generated content were implemented to prevent execution of malicious HTML.
Conclusion
The penetration test revealed critical vulnerabilities that could have led to unauthorized access to sensitive data and exploitation of user interactions. The identified issues were efficiently mitigated by implementing secure coding practices and input validation mechanisms. This case highlights the importance of ongoing security assessments to maintain a secure digital environment for sensitive data.
