Finding and Mitigating Your Vulnerabilities Through OWASP

by Sarah Harvey / October 10th, 2019

What is OWASP?

The Open Web Application Security Project, or OWASP, is an open, online community that provides free tools and documentation to anyone interested in improving insecure software and in developing, operating, and maintaining secure software. OWASP is a not-for-profit organization, with no affiliation to any company, making it a popular methodology to rely on.

OWASP’s core values are: open, innovation, global, and integrity. OWASP prides itself on being a transparent organization that supports innovation and information security solutions with honesty and truth for any person in the world to access. These principles create an atmosphere of trust and confidence in the quality of information that OWASP provides. Organizations can rely on OWASP to offer tools that help them make informed decisions regarding secure software. OWASP is an incredible resource to learn how to properly mitigate your risks in terms of software development.

OWASP’s Top 10

OWASP’s “Top 10” is one of their most well-known projects, relied upon by many developing secure software and systems. The Top 10 projects document the industry’s consensus on the most critical security risks in specific areas, from web applications to APIs. These lists are especially helpful for organizations that are looking to develop secure code and software. OWASP’s Top 10 security risks for web applications, mobile applications, IoT devices, and APIs include the following:

[av_table purpose=’pricing’ pricing_table_design=’avia_pricing_default’ pricing_hidden_cells=” caption=” responsive_styling=’avia_responsive_table’ custom_class=”] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Web Application Risks[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Mobile Application Risks [/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]IoT Risks [/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]API Risks[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Injection Flaws[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Improper Platform Usage[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Weak or Hardcoded Passwords[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Missing Object Level Access Control[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Broken Authentication Methods[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Data Storage[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Network Services[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Broken Authentication[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Sensitive Data Exposure[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Communication[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Ecosystem Interfaces[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Excessive Data Exposure [/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]XML External Entities (XXE)[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Authentication[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Lack of Secure Update Mechanism[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Lack of Resources and Rate Limiting[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Broken Access Controls[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insufficient Cryptography[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Use of Insecure or Outdated Components[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Missing Function/Resource Level Access Control[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Security Misconfigurations[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Authorization[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insufficient Privacy Protection[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Mass Assignment[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]XSS Flaws[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Client Code Quality [/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Data Transfer and Storage[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Security Misconfiguration[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Deserialization[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Code Tampering[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Lack of Device Management[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Injection[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Reverse Engineering[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insecure Default Settings[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Improper Assets Management[/av_cell][/av_row] [av_row row_style=”][av_cell col_style=”]Insufficient Logging & Monitoring [/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Extraneous Functionality [/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Lack of Physical Hardening[/av_cell][av_cell col_style=”]Insufficient Logging and Monitoring[/av_cell][/av_row] [/av_table]

While these lists include an overwhelming number of risks to be aware of, they are helpful in determining what type of penetration testing your organization might consider, what risks to prioritize during remediation, and how to further develop secure software. OWASP is used by penetration testers, whether internal to your organization or a third party, to stay in tune with common vulnerabilities they should be looking for in your systems, devices, and environment.

How Does Penetration Testing Help You Mitigate Your Risks?

What can your organization do with the knowledge of these common risks and vulnerabilities? You’re already ahead of the game by understanding OWASP’s Top 10 Security Risks and seeking to better your information security processes, but you can take your proactive work a step further by investing in penetration testing that helps you build secure software and mitigate your risks. When your organization hires a penetration tester to manually attack your vulnerabilities and provide an extensive report on the details of your security testing, you can better understand your weaknesses and how they can be exploited.

OWASP influences the penetration testing methodology at KirkpatrickPrice so that we stay at the top of the industry in quality and information security knowledge to provide your organization with a guided path to secure software. Contact us today if you’re ready to take the next step to securing your applications.