Enhancing the Security Assessment for the Web Application bWAPP
In the realm of cybersecurity, understanding web vulnerabilities is paramount. Two tools that aid security enthusiasts, developers, and students in this pursuit are Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) and the deliberately insecure web application, bWAPP.
bWAPP, a free, open-source platform, is designed to help learners gain hands-on experience with web vulnerabilities. On the other hand, Qualys WAS is an automated vulnerability scanning tool that discovers multiple vulnerabilities in an efficient manner.
When using Qualys WAS with bWAPP, it's recommended to prioritise SQL links and add explicit URLs to ensure priority testing and bypass any redundancy configurations or blacklist setups. For the bWAPP application, Selenium authentication is suggested due to the presence of multiple forms.
To optimise scan time and prevent errors, the medium scan intensity should be chosen, and enhanced crawling should be turned off. The 'categories' option in Qualys WAS should be selected to focus on XSS and SQL-type vulnerabilities.
Qualys WAS employs three different techniques to determine SQL vulnerabilities: error-based, delayed, and response differences. It also tests multiple parameters and forms at a faster speed.
If expected SQL vulnerabilities are not reported in the Qualys WAS report, it's recommended to run a full discovery scan. Some QIDs in the report can provide valuable insights, such as 150018 Connection Error Occurred During Web Application Scan, 150009 Links Crawled, and 150152 Forms Crawled.
However, there is no explicit resource recommending a specific configuration for using Qualys WAS with bWAPP. A practical approach is to customise Qualys WAS to focus on the common vulnerabilities present in bWAPP to ensure thorough scanning and testing effectiveness. For detailed integration or configuration references, community forums or vendor documentation may need to be consulted.
It's worth noting that Qualys WAS supports multiple authentication techniques for scanning, including Standard Auth and Selenium. The 'Option Profile' in Qualys WAS should include the option 'Include form action URI in form uniqueness calculation' off.
If expected SQL links are reported with a 404 response code in the Qualys WAS report, it may indicate that the links were no longer responding or the configurations for bWAPP need to be reviewed.
It is recommended to use aim.php as the Target Definition in Qualys WAS for bWAPP. Prioritising SQL links in Qualys WAS ensures consistent responses and more consistent reporting.
In conclusion, combining Qualys WAS and bWAPP provides an effective way to learn and test web vulnerabilities. By following the guidelines outlined above, users can ensure thorough scanning and testing effectiveness, making their cybersecurity learning journey more productive and efficient.
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