An attacker employs forceful browsing (direct URL entry) to access portions of a website that are otherwise unreachable. Usually, a front controller or similar design pattern is employed to protect access to portions of a web application. Forceful browsing enables an attacker to access information, perform privileged operations and otherwise reach sections of the web application that have been improperly protected.
Description
Attack Execution Flow
4
1
Step 1
Explore[Spider] Using an automated tool, an attacker follows all public links on a web site. They record all the links they find.
Use a spidering tool to follow and record all links.
Use a proxy tool to record all links visited during a manual traversal of the web application.
AI Translation
[Spider] Utilizzando uno strumento automatizzato, un attaccante segue tutti i link pubblici di un sito web. Registrano tutti i link trovati.
Utilizza uno strumento di spidering per seguire e registrare tutti i link.
Utilizza uno strumento proxy per registrare tutti i link visitati durante una navigazione manuale dell'applicazione web.
Attack Techniques
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Use a spidering tool to follow and record all links.
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Use a proxy tool to record all links visited during a manual traversal of the web application.IT: Utilizza uno strumento di spidering per seguire e registrare tutti i link.
2
Step 2
Experiment[Attempt well-known or guessable resource locations] Using an automated tool, an attacker requests a variety of well-known URLs that correspond to administrative, debugging, or other useful internal actions. They record all the positive responses from the server.
Use a spidering tool to follow and record attempts on well-known URLs.
Use a proxy tool to record all links visited during a manual traversal of attempts on well-known URLs.
AI Translation
[Tentativo di risorse note o facilmente indovinabili] Utilizzando uno strumento automatizzato, un attaccante richiede una varietà di URL ben noti che corrispondono ad azioni amministrative, di debug o altre operazioni interne utili. Registrano tutte le risposte positive dal server.
Utilizzare uno strumento di spidering per seguire e registrare i tentativi su URL ben noti.
Utilizzare uno strumento proxy per registrare tutti i link visitati durante una navigazione manuale dei tentativi su URL ben noti.
Attack Techniques
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Use a spidering tool to follow and record attempts on well-known URLs.
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Use a proxy tool to record all links visited during a manual traversal of attempts on well-known URLs.IT: Utilizza uno strumento di spidering per seguire e registrare tentativi su URL ben noti.
3
Step 3
Exploit[Use unauthorized resources] By visiting the unprotected resource, the attacker makes use of unauthorized functionality.
Access unprotected functions and execute them.
AI Translation
[Utilizzo di risorse non autorizzate] Visitando la risorsa non protetta, l'attaccante sfrutta funzionalità non autorizzate.
Accedi a funzioni non protette ed eseguilo.
Attack Techniques
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Access unprotected functions and execute them.
4
Step 4
Exploit[View unauthorized data] The attacker discovers and views unprotected sensitive data.
Direct request of protected pages that directly access database back-ends. (e.g., list.jsp, accounts.jsp, status.jsp, etc.)
AI Translation
[Visualizza dati non autorizzati] L'attaccante scopre e visualizza dati sensibili non protetti.
Richiesta diretta di pagine protette che accedono direttamente ai back-end del database. (ad esempio, list.jsp, accounts.jsp, status.jsp, ecc.)
Attack Techniques
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Direct request of protected pages that directly access database back-ends. (e.g., list.jsp, accounts.jsp, status.jsp, etc.)
Mitigations
2
Authenticate Request To Every Resource. In Addition, Every Page Or Resource Must Ensure That The Request It Is Handling Has Been Made In An Authorized Context.
Forceful Browsing Can Also Be Made Difficult To A Large Extent By Not Hard-Coding Names Of Application Pages Or Resources. This Way, The Attacker Cannot Figure Out, From The Application Alone, The Resources Available From The Present Context.
Consequences
Security Scopes Affected
Access Control
Authorization
Confidentiality
Potential Impacts
Bypass Protection Mechanism
Read Data
Relationships
Parent CAPECs
Resources Required
1
None: No specialized resources are required to execute this type of attack. A directory listing is helpful, but not a requirement.