Web Application Scanning

Introduction

• Web application scanning is a process in which automated tools identify and pinpoint potential risks in web applications that cyber criminals could exploit.
• It is important to mitigate these risks, especially before the web application is introduced in the market.
• This helps the business maintain trust and reputation. This is also needed for businesses to avoid any kind of data theft on the internet.
• A cybersecurity firm scans and recommends various steps to mitigate these potential risks in a report.
• Vulnerabilities like SQL injection and misconfigurations affect web applications and cost money to businesses and firms.

What does Web Application Scanning Do?

• It is a process that involves scanning web-based applications to identify their security posture and mitigate potential risks. Here is what web applications do:

1. Identifies Vulnerabilities
   • During a web application scanning, various vulnerabilities are uncovered and these vulnerabilities could potentially harm the application.
   • Here are some vulnerabilities that could affect the applications:
   • SQL Injection
   • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
   • Insecure Configurations
   • Outdated Software
2. Simulates Attacks
   • The automated scanning tools simulate real attacks on the web app.
   • This means it shows hackers and cyber criminals could potentially exploit the gaps and weaknesses.
   • This helps in identifying how the application would respond to the attacks and thus a solution could be devised and improve the security of that application.
3. Provides Detailed Reports
   • After simulating the attacks, the automated tools provide detailed reports of the application’s security posture.
   • This report generally includes the below-stated information.
   • Description of the Vulnerability
   • Severity Levels
   • Recommendations for remediation
4. Helps Ensure Compliance
   • Various industries require various compliance requirements like GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, etc.
   • To get these compliance certifications, industries, and businesses need to conduct regular security assessments.
   • Web application scanning helps firms with compliance requirements and meet specific standards.
5. Supports Continuous Security
   • With the continuous increase in rising vulnerabilities, there is also an evolving need for security measures for web-based applications.
   • To counter-attack these vulnerabilities continuous web application scanning is necessary.

Benefits of Web Application Scanning

• This scanning method offers various benefits that help businesses and firms protect their web applications from potential security risks. Here are some key benefits:

Benefit	Description
Early Detection of Vulnerabilities	Identifies security issues early, allowing them to be fixed before exploitation.
Cost-Effective Security	Prevents costly incidents by addressing vulnerabilities during development.
Enhanced Security Posture	Maintains strong security by regularly identifying and fixing vulnerabilities.
Compliance with Regulations	Helps meet industry regulations requiring regular security assessments.
Protection of Sensitive Data	Safeguards personal and financial information by addressing vulnerabilities.

Challenges for Web Application Scanning

• It is an essential process that helps organizations build their security posture but it also comes with various challenges. The challenges for web application scanning include:

1. False Positives and Negatives:
   • Scanners may incorrectly identify vulnerabilities. Thus, leading to inefficient reports and potential threats unresolved.
2. Complex Web Applications:
   • With the continuous evolution of web applications, they have become dynamic and complex. Thus, making it difficult for scanners to identify all the vulnerabilities in the application.
3. Performance Impact:
   • Scanning can sometimes slow down web application performance, which can be disruptive to users and operations.
4. Frequent Updates:
   • Continuous updates and changes to web applications require frequent rescanning, which can be resource-intensive and challenging to manage.
5. Custom Code:
   • Unique, custom-built features of a web application may not be effectively scanned by automated tools, necessitating manual review.

Web App Scanning vs. Web Vulnerability Scanning

Aspect	Web Application Scanning	Web Vulnerability Scanning
Scope	Focuses on identifying vulnerabilities specific to web applications.	Focuses on vulnerabilities in web applications, servers, networks, and other components.
Purpose	Its purpose is to secure web applications by detecting flaws and security risks.	Provides a complete security scan of vulnerabilities associated with web applications.
Common Tools	OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, and Metasploit.	Nessus, OpenVAS, and Qualys.
Types of Vulnerabilities	Vulnerabilities include SQL injection, XSS, and misconfigurations.	Includes web-specific vulnerabilities as well as network and servers.
Depth of Analysis	Provides in-depth analysis of application-specific vulnerabilities.	Provides an analysis of the security posture, and vulnerabilities.
Automation vs. Manual	This process uses automated tools.	It is usually done using automated tools but manual testing could also be done.
Output	Detailed reports on application vulnerabilities.	Comprehensive security reports.

Types of Web Application Scanning

• Web application scanning can be typically categorized into two types, which are:

1. Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
   • SAST analyzes various aspects of the application.
   • These aspects include source code and bytecodes of the application that’s being tested.
   • It is termed a static tool because these tools perform the analysis without executing it.
   • It scans for security flaws during the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle).
   • The vulnerabilities often include coding errors and flaws.
   • Purpose: Find vulnerabilities in the code during development.
   • Benefits: Helps developers fix issues before the application is run, making it more secure from the start.
   • Examples: Checkmarx, Fortify, Veracode.
2. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
   • DAST identifies vulnerabilities in the web application effectively.
   • The tool finds these vulnerabilities by simulating attacks on the application and analyzes how the application responds.
   • This is helpful for attacks such as SQL injection and Cross-site scripting (XSS).
   • Purpose: Detect vulnerabilities that can be exploited from outside the application.
   • Benefits: Identifies security flaws that appear when the application is live and running.
   • Examples: OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, Netsparker, SQL Map, etc.

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