The OWASP Top 10 is a list of the most critical web application security risks. The list is updated every three years, with the latest version being OWASP Top 10 – 2022. The following is a summary of the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities 2022:
- Broken Access Control: Broken access control refers to the ability of an attacker to bypass authentication or access controls in order to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. This can include things like leaking session tokens, bypassing authentication mechanisms, or elevating privileges.
- Security Misconfiguration: Security misconfiguration is a broad category that covers a variety of issues that can arise from poor configuration of web applications and infrastructure. This can include things like leaving default accounts and passwords in place, failing to patch vulnerabilities, or leaving sensitive information exposed in logs or configuration files.
- Unvalidated Inputs: Unvalidated inputs can occur when user-supplied data is not properly validated before it is used by the application. This can allow attackers to inject malicious code or data that can be used to compromise the application or steal sensitive information.
- Sensitive Data Exposure: Sensitive data exposure refers to the accidental or intentional exposure of sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, or login credentials. This can occur through a variety of mechanisms, such as unencrypted data storage or transmission, or failure to properly restrict access to sensitive data.
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): This can allow an attacker to steal sensitive information, such as cookies or login credentials, or perform other malicious actions on the victim’s behalf.
- Broken Cryptography: Broken cryptography refers to the use of weak or outdated encryption algorithms, or the failure to properly implement encryption, that can allow attackers to decrypt sensitive information or impersonate trusted entities.
- Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities: Using components with known vulnerabilities refers to the use of third-party libraries, frameworks, or other software components that have known security vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can be exploited by attackers to compromise the application or steal sensitive information.
- Insufficient Logging and Monitoring: Insufficient logging and monitoring refers to the failure to properly log and monitor access to web applications and sensitive data. This can make it difficult or impossible to detect and respond to security breaches or other malicious activity.
- Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards: Unvalidated redirects and forwards can occur when an application takes user-supplied data and uses it to redirect or forward the user to another page. If the data is not properly validated, an attacker can use this to redirect the user to a malicious site or steal sensitive information.
It’s important to note that this list is not exhaustive and there are many other types of vulnerabilities and attack vectors that can be used to compromise web applications and steal sensitive information. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that a defence-in-depth strategy that includes multiple layers of security controls is essential to effectively protect against these and other types of attacks. One should understand about the owasp mobile top 10 vulnerabilities.
