- [Instructor] The attack methodology for web applications
is very similar to most types of attacks.
Our first step is always recon.
As an attacker, we need to find out
as much information about the target as possible
before we start attacking.
This involves scanning for open ports
and probing for more information
to identify the actual web server
and version that's running.
This is important because if we find
a web server that is vulnerable
to an unauthenticated remote exploit, for example.
We don't need to look any further.
We can just exploit that service to gain access.
At that point, there's no need for application hacking.
If we don't find a vulnerable service,
we would move on to the mapping and discovery phase.
In the mapping phase,
we will crawl or spider the application
to determine the full attack surface.
In the discovery phase,
this is where we look deeper into the application
and that we're attacking to uncover
any holes in it's security.
For instance, in WordPress or in PHP,
we would look for specific vulnerabilities
in those types of applications.
If we can't find a vulnerability specific
to the applications being served,
we can use that as a way in.
In our exploitation phase,
we will validate the vulnerabilities
identified in the mapping and discovery phases
so when we find a vulnerability through discovery,
we need to validate it and that's the exploitation phase.