Node.js is an environment that helps you create server-side applications using JavaScript. One of the common Node.js elements that developers like and use are .env files. These files let you easily save and load environment variables. Developers often use them to store confidential information. However,…
Chrome Tightens CSRF Protection
The Chrome 76 browser, which is expected in July 2019, will include tighter controls for the SameSite cookie attribute. This attribute is used by website or web application developers when they set cookies. It specifies whether the cookie may be used in a third-party context….
Preventing NTP Reflection Attacks
The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is the standard protocol for time synchronization in the IT industry. It is widely used by servers, mobile devices, endpoints, and network devices, irrespective of their vendor. The latest version of NTP (version 4) is defined in RFC 5905. The…
What Is Persistent XSS
Persistent Cross-site Scripting (Stored XSS) attacks represent one of three major types of Cross-site Scripting. The other two types of attacks of this kind are Non-Persistent XSS (Reflected XSS) and DOM-based XSS. In general, XSS attacks are based on the victim’s trust in a legitimate…
Why is Source Code Disclosure Dangerous?
Source code often contains some form of sensitive information. It may be configuration-related information (e.g. database credentials) or simply information about how the web application works. If source code files are disclosed, an attacker may potentially use such information to discover logical flaws. This may…
What Is HSTS Used for? – problems, errors, fixes
HSTS stands for HTTP Strict Transport Security. It is a method used by websites to declare that they should only be accessed using a secure connection (HTTPS). If a website declares an HSTS policy, the browser must refuse all HTTP connections and prevent users from…
XML External Entity Vulnerability in Internet Explorer
When exploiting a typical XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability, the attacker attempts to gain access to the content of files on a Web server. However, XXE vulnerabilities may also allow the attacker to steal private data from the user. Such a case was recently discovered…
Bypassing SOP using the browser cache
Misconfigured caching can lead to various vulnerabilities. For example, attackers may use badly-configured intermediate servers (reverse proxies, load balancers, or cache proxies) to gain access to sensitive data. Another way to exploit caching is through Web Cache Poisoning attacks. The browser cache may look like…
Session Token in URL Vulnerability
The HTTP protocol and web servers are stateless by nature. This means that there is no way for them to track user activity. The web server treats every request as a new one. For this reason, browsers and web servers need to use session tokens….