Web Application Pentesting: OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, and Ettercap

Summary

The process of evaluating the security of a system or network by simulating an attack is known as penetration testing. Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, and Ettercap are penetration testing applications. Burp Suite is a commonly used tool for web application testing that includes an intercepting proxy, a web application scanner, and various other tools such as intruder, and repeater. It enables testers to detect and exploit web application vulnerabilities, such as cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and file inclusion. OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a free and open-source web application testing utility. It consists of automated analyzers, a proxy, and reporting tools to aid in the identification of vulnerabilities. OWASP ZAP is especially helpful for discovering authentication and session management vulnerabilities. Ettercap is a network analysis application that permits testers to manipulate and intercept network traffic. It can be used for man-in-the-middle attacks, password sniffing, and injecting malicious code. For penetration testing, Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, and Ettercap are widely used tools. Each tool has its own strengths and limitations, and the choice of tool is dependent on the test's particular requirements. Nevertheless, all three instruments are extensively employed in the web application pentesing community.

Description

Penetration testing, also known as pen testing or ethical hacking, is a method for evaluating the security of computer systems, networks, or applications by simulating an attack against them. The objective of penetration testing is to identify system vulnerabilities prior to their exploitation.

Typically, penetration testing consists of multiple stages, including reconnaissance, information gathering, vulnerability analysis, exploitation, and post-exploitation and reporting. During the reconnaissance phase, the tester collects data about the target system, including its IP address, operating system, and accessible ports. The information-gathering stage involves collecting as much information as possible about the target system or network. This information can be used to identify potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors that can be exploited during later stages of the testing process. During the vulnerability analysis phase, the tester employs a variety of tools to identify system vulnerabilities, such as missing patches, weak passwords, and misconfigured servers. During the exploitation phase, the tester attempts to exploit the system's identified vulnerabilities to obtain access to sensitive data or control of the system. During the post-exploitation phase, the tester evaluates the access degree and potential damage caused by the exploit. The reporting phase of a penetration testing engagement involves documenting the results of the testing process and presenting them to the client.

Manually, automatically, or using a combination of both, penetration testing can be conducted. The test results are documented in a report that includes information about the vulnerabilities discovered, their severity, and remediation recommendations. Overall, penetration testing is a crucial component of any comprehensive security program because it enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities and remediate them prior to their exploitation by adversaries.

Tools

Penetration testing, also known as pen testing or ethical hacking, is a method for evaluating the security of computer systems, networks, or applications by simulating an attack against them. The objective of penetration testing is to identify system vulnerabilities prior to their exploitation. Typically, penetration testing consists of multiple stages, including reconnaissance, information gathering, vulnerability analysis, exploitation, and post-exploitation and reporting. During the reconnaissance phase, the tester collects data about the target system, including its IP address, operating system, and accessible ports. The information-gathering stage involves collecting as much information as possible about the target system or network. This information can be used to identify potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors that can be exploited during later stages of the testing process. During the vulnerability analysis phase, the tester employs a variety of tools to identify system vulnerabilities, such as missing patches, weak passwords, and misconfigured servers. During the exploitation phase, the tester attempts to exploit the system's identified vulnerabilities to obtain access to sensitive data or control of the system. During the post-exploitation phase, the tester evaluates the access degree and potential damage caused by the exploit. The reporting phase of a penetration testing engagement involves documenting the results of the testing process and presenting them to the client.

Manually, automatically, or using a combination of both, penetration testing can be conducted. The test results are documented in a report that includes information about the vulnerabilities discovered, their severity, and remediation recommendations. Overall, penetration testing is a crucial component of any comprehensive security program because it enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities and remediate them prior to their exploitation by adversaries.

OWASP ZAP

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a commonly used open-source web application security testing utility that offers a variety of features and functionalities to help identify and mitigate web application vulnerabilities. Among the most important features of the OWASP ZAP scanner are:

• Spidering: OWASP ZAP includes a powerful spidering utility that examines the web application, identifies all available URLs, and creates a structure map of the application.
• Active Scanning: OWASP ZAP includes an active scanning engine that automatically tests web applications for common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and file inclusion.
• Passive Scanning: OWASP ZAP also supports passive scanning, which is the analysis of web application traffic without user interaction. This can assist in discovering vulnerabilities that may have been ignored during active scanning.

Burp Suite

Burp Suite is a comprehensive web application security testing tool that offers a variety of features for identifying and exploiting web application vulnerabilities. Among the essential features of Burp Suite are:

• Intercepting Proxy: Burp Suite includes an intercepting proxy that allows testers to intercept and modify requests and responses between the client and server, enabling them to test for various security vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and file inclusion vulnerabilities.
• Web Application Scanner: Burp Suite's web application scanner automates the process of testing for common web application vulnerabilities, such as injection flaws, access control issues, and information disclosure.
• Target Analyzer: Burp Suite's target analyzer automatically maps the application's structure, identifying the various pages, links, and parameters. This helps testers better understand the application and target their testing efforts more efficiently.
• Intruder: Burp Suite's intruder is a tool for testing the input validation mechanisms of web applications. It can be used to perform brute-force attacks, fuzzing, and other types of attacks on web application input fields.
• Repeater: Burp Suite's repeater is a utility that allows testers to manually modify and resend requests and responses to the web application, enabling them to test for various security vulnerabilities, such as XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) and CSRF(Cross-Site Request Forgery).

Ettercap

Ettercap is a commonly used open-source tool used for network analysis and security testing. Some of the key functionalities of Ettercap include:

• Man-in-the-middle Attacks: Ettercap allows testers to perform various man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks on the network, intercepting and manipulating network traffic between hosts. This can help identify security vulnerabilities and test the effectiveness of security controls.
• Protocol Analysis: Ettercap can analyze and decode various network protocols, such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), ARP (Address Resolution Protocol), and ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol), allowing testers to identify anomalies and potential security threats.
• Passive Network Scanning: Ettercap can passively scan the network and identify hosts, services, and open ports, enabling testers to map out the network and identify potential vulnerabilities.
• Active Network Scanning: Ettercap can perform active network scanning and fingerprinting, identifying the operating system, services, and vulnerabilities of hosts on the network.
• DNS Spoofing: Ettercap allows testers to perform DNS spoofing attacks, redirecting DNS requests to a rogue DNS server, enabling attackers to intercept and manipulate network traffic.
• Password Sniffing: Ettercap can capture and analyze passwords in plaintext and hashed format, enabling testers to identify weak passwords and test the effectiveness of password policies.

Pentesting with OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite and Ettercap

Pentesting web applications with the OWASP ZAP scanner typically involves the following steps:

• Configure OWASP ZAP: The initial stage involves configuring OWASP ZAP to function with the web application. Setting up the target URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and proxy configurations may be required.
• Discover and Map the Web Application: The following stage involves discovering and mapping the web application. Utilizing ZAP's spider utility to explore the application and identify all of its pages and inputs is required. This will aid in developing an exhaustive understanding of the application's structure.
• Identify and Exploit Vulnerabilities: The next stage, after mapping the application, is to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. ZAP offers a number of tools, including the scanner and the active scanner, which can be used to identify common web application vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and file inclusion vulnerabilities.
• Analyze the Results: After vulnerability assessments have been performed, ZAP provides a comprehensive report of the findings. The report details the discovered vulnerabilities, their severity, and potential remediation steps.
• Validate: Once the vulnerabilities have been verified, it is crucial to confirm that the remedies were effective. ZAP can be used to rescan the application to confirm that the vulnerabilities have been remedied successfully.

Pentesting web applications with Burp Suite typically involves the following steps:

• Configure Burp Suite: The first stage is to configure Burp Suite to interact with the web application. This may involve configuring the proxy settings, establishing the scope of the target, and installing any required extensions.
• Discover and Map the Web Application The following stage involves discovering and mapping the web application. This entails using the spider tool in Burp Suite to explore the application and identify all of its pages and inputs. This will aid in developing an understanding of the application's structure.
• Identify and Exploit Vulnerabilities: Following the mapping of the application, the next stage is to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. Burp Suite provides various tools, such as the scanner and the intruder, that can be utilized to identify typical website vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and file inclusion.
• Analyze the Results: Following the execution of vulnerability assessments, Burp Suite generates a comprehensive report of the findings. The report details the discovered vulnerabilities, their severity, and potential remediation steps.
• Verify: Burp Suite can be used to re-scan the application to verify that the vulnerabilities have been effectively patched.

Ettercap is primarily designed for network traffic analysis and interception, but here are the general steps to follow in order to be able to use Ettercap for web application penetration testing:

• Set up a testing environment: Set up a testing environment that simulates the target web application's environment as closely as possible. This can include a web server, application server, and database server.
• Configure Ettercap: Configure Ettercap to intercept web traffic between the client and server. You can use the "Unified Sniffing" option to capture all traffic or use the "Selective Sniffing" option to filter out unwanted traffic.
• Identify the target: Use Ettercap to identify the target web application by analyzing the intercepted traffic. Look for requests and responses that include the web application's domain or IP address.
• Analyze the traffic: Use Ettercap's built-in packet analyzer or a separate tool like Wireshark to analyze the intercepted traffic. Look for vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and session hijacking.
• Exploit vulnerabilities: Use the information you have gathered from the traffic analysis to exploit vulnerabilities in the web application. This can include using tools like SQLmap for SQL injection or XSStrike for cross-site scripting.
• Document the findings: Documenting findings in a detailed report include the steps, the vulnerabilities found and any recommendations for improving the security of the web application.

Used Hardware

Notebook

Used Software

Operating system: Ubuntu/Kali Linux

VMWare Workstation

Results

Pentesting web applications is an essential step in ensuring the security of modern-day software systems. OWASP ZAP Scanner, Burpsuite, and Ettercap are three widely used tools for performing web application penetration testing. OWASP ZAP Scanner provides a comprehensive and intuitive user interface for identifying common web application vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and file inclusion vulnerabilities. It also provides a range of automated tools for detecting and exploiting these vulnerabilities. Burpsuite is a widely used web application proxy that offers a wide range of features and tools for identifying vulnerabilities and analyzing web traffic. It offers a comprehensive set of tools for identifying and exploiting web application vulnerabilities and offers detailed reporting and analysis features. Ettercap is a tool that focuses on network traffic analysis and manipulation, and it can be used to perform a range of security-related tasks, including intercepting and modifying network traffic and performing ARP spoofing attacks. Overall, using a combination of these tools provides a comprehensive and effective approach to web application pentesting. It is essential to regularly repeat the pentesting process to ensure that the application remains secure as new vulnerabilities may arise over time. Ultimately, by using these tools, developers can identify and fix vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them, helping to ensure the security and reliability of web applications.

References

• https://www.apachefriends.org/de/download.html
• https://www.kali.org/get-kali/
• https://www.zaproxy.org/
• https://portswigger.net/burp
• https://www.ettercap-project.org/
• https://customerconnect.vmware.com/de/downloads/info/slug/desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_workstation_player/16_0
• https://www.vmware.com/at/products/workstation-pro/workstation-pro-evaluation.html