Threat modeling is a term thrown around in a lot of different contexts, but it can sound daunting if your unfamiliar with it in practice. It really just refers to identifying what threats an organization, a target network, or an in-scope application should be worried about. For penetration testers, you are modeling (mapping out) the […]
As we continue our series explaining some of the most common web application vulnerabilities we encounter during penetration tests, we arrive at cross-site scripting (XSS). XSS comes in at number 7 on the most recent OWASP Top 10 release, so it is still an issue for a significant number of applications and organizations. Caused by […]
Does SOC 2 require penetration testing or vulnerability scanning? This is a great question and one that we get asked frequently. Today, we will explore the interpretations of the requirements and our recommended approach. What is SOC 2? Developed by the American Institute of CPAs, SOC 2 defines criteria for managing customer data based on […]
APIs, or application programming interfaces, allow different platforms, apps, and systems to connect and share data with each other. They are used by IoT devices, mobile applications, traditional web applications, and almost every website that communicates directly with other applications. As a result, it is no surprise that the use of APIs has grown immensely […]
In today’s blog, we are going to learn a key concept related to how an attacker gains a foothold on your network: the difference between a bind and reverse payload. Attackers typically get an initial foothold by exploiting a vulnerability that allows them to execute code on a target. This can be through a web […]
As we continue our mini-series addressing some of the most common web application vulnerabilities we see during assessments, we turn our attention to the broad category of authentication weaknesses next. The OWASP Top 10 identifies this category as number 2 on its list, meaning it is obviously well known and prevalent. So then why are […]
As we continue to try and share knowledge we’ve gained in our time performing penetration testing, we’re going to focus on another common web application vulnerability I keep running into. Authorization bypass is number 5 on the OWASP Top 10, further demonstrating that this continues to be a common issue plaguing web applications. The biggest […]
As many of you are most likely aware of by this point, two Coalfire employees are facing criminal trespassing charges in Iowa. The two employees were conducting a physical penetration test against a judicial branch building and the Dallas County courthouse. As part of their assessment, they gained access to the courthouse and intentionally tripped […]
The National Credit Union Administration or “NCUA” was established to “provide, through regulation and supervision, a safe and sound credit union system, which promotes confidence in the national system of cooperative credit.” As one could imagine, IT infrastructure and the information security program is one of the critical pillars that are required to be audited. […]
Throughout our assessments, we get the opportunity to work with a wide variety of clients and see a ton of different web applications. When performing web application penetration testing in particular, there are a number of issues that we notice over and over again, regardless of the development language, application architecture, etc. If we see […]
