When dealing with custom applications, particularly those tailored for a specific organization, a thorough approach is required to understand their intricacies. Below is a detailed breakdown of the fingerprinting process, with specific examples related to your message.
- Understand the Scope:
- Questions to Address:
- What is the primary purpose of the application?
- Does it facilitate user registration?
- Is there an administration panel?
- What types of user input are accepted?
- Does it allow file uploads?
- Does it utilize JavaScript, AJAX, or Flash?
- Example:
- Suppose you're auditing a custom application for a financial institution. Understanding whether it enables online banking, user registrations, and financial transactions is crucial.
- Questions to Address:
- Visit the Website:
- Questions to Answer:
- What is the application's core functionality?
- Does it involve online sales, corporate presence, or blogging?
- Are there specific areas that require user authentication?
- Example:
- While navigating the website, you may discover that the application is primarily focused on corporate financial management and includes a secure login area for clients.
- Questions to Answer:
- Consider Common Software:
- Example:
- Even in a custom application, you might find integrated functionalities such as forums or blogs. Recognizing these can be essential, as they may introduce vulnerabilities commonly associated with off-the-shelf software.
- Example:
- Proxy Setup:
- Tool:
- Utilize Burp Proxy for browsing, enabling the configuration of a scope through regular expressions.
- Example:
- Configure Burp Proxy to intercept requests related to user authentication or financial transactions within the application.
- Tool:
- Crawling with Burp:
- Tool:
- Enable the Burp crawler (Spider tab) to automatically generate and record requests and response headers.
- Example:
- The crawler will traverse through different sections of the financial application, capturing relevant information about the structure and behavior.
- Tool:
- Study the Target:
- Questions to Answer:
- What is the primary purpose of each section?
- Are there specific functionalities tied to user authentication?
- What are the critical areas, such as eCommerce or client dashboards?
- Example:
- Identify that the eCommerce section is a core element, and there are login-protected areas containing sensitive financial data.
- Questions to Answer:
- Study the Blocks:
- Example:
- Recognize that certain blocks may use third-party components, like a financial analytics tool or a secure payment gateway. Note any login-protected areas with a rhombus symbol.
- Example:
- Functional Graph:
- Example:
- Visualize the eCommerce block as a green hexagon, indicating its significance. The graph helps illustrate the application's structure and critical components.
- Example:
- Client-Side Validation:
- Identification:
- Locate client-side validation points by inspecting JavaScript functions triggered upon form submission.
- Example:
- Use tools like Firebug to identify JavaScript functions that validate user inputs in financial transaction forms.
- Identification:
- Database Interaction:
- Detection:
- Identify changes in page appearance indicating active database interaction, as this may hint at SQL injection vulnerabilities.
- Example:
- Notice that certain pages dynamically update based on user queries, potentially indicating database interactions for financial data retrieval.
- Detection:
- File Uploading and Downloading:
- Example:
- Identify pages that allow dynamic downloads or file uploads. These areas might pose risks related to Remote or Local File Inclusion vulnerabilities.
- Example:
- Display of User Supplied Data:
- Example:
- Locate sections displaying user-supplied data, which could be vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.
- Example:
- Redirections:
- Example:
- Investigate server-side directives and meta refresh tags. Improper handling could lead to HTTP response splitting and other attacks.
- Example:
- Access Controls and Login Protected Pages:
- Example:
- Identify login pages and areas protected by authentication. Test the security of these authentication routines.
- Example:
- Error Messages:
- Example:
- Collect error messages encountered during browsing. While intentional error generation may come later, noting spontaneous errors is crucial.
- Example:
- Organize Information:
- Example:
- Use a table-based chart to categorize information for each block, including client-side validation, redirections, database interaction, errors, display of user data, and login details.
- Example: