Page 1497 - (ISC)² CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide

Summary

Applications developers have a lot to worry about! As hackers become
more sophisticated in their tools and techniques, the Application layer
is increasingly becoming the focus of their attacks due to its

complexity and multiple points of vulnerability.

Malicious code, including viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and logic
bombs, exploits vulnerabilities in applications and operating systems
or uses social engineering to infect systems and gain access to their
resources and confidential information.

Applications themselves also may contain a number of vulnerabilities.

Buffer overflow attacks exploit code that lacks proper input validation
to affect the contents of a system’s memory. Back doors provide
former developers and malicious code authors with the ability to
bypass normal security mechanisms. Rootkits provide attackers with
an easy way to conduct escalation-of-privilege attacks.

Many applications are moving to the web, creating a new level of
exposure and vulnerability. Cross-site scripting attacks allow hackers

to trick users into providing sensitive information to unsecure sites.
SQL injection attacks allow the bypassing of application controls to
directly access and manipulate the underlying database.

Reconnaissance tools provide attackers with automated tools they can
use to identify vulnerable systems that may be attacked at a later date.
IP probes, port scans, and vulnerability scans are all automated ways
to detect weak points in an organization’s security controls.

Masquerading attacks use stealth techniques to allow the
impersonation of users and systems.