Kali Linux Web Penetration Testing Cookbook

Web applications are a huge point of attack for malicious hackers and a critical area for security professionals and penetration testers to lock down and secure. Kali Linux is a Linux-based penetration testing platform and operating system that provides a huge array of testing tools, many of which can be used specifically to execute web penetration testing.

Key Features

Familiarize yourself with the most common web vulnerabilities a web application faces, and understand how attackers take advantage of them
Set up a penetration testing lab to conduct a preliminary assessment of attack surfaces and run exploits
Learn how to prevent vulnerabilities in web applications before an attacker can make the most of it

Book Description

This book will teach you, in the form step-by-step recipes, how to detect a wide array of vulnerabilities, exploit them to analyze their consequences, and ultimately buffer attackable surfaces so applications are more secure, for you and your users.

Starting from the setup of a testing laboratory, this book will give you the skills you need to cover every stage of a penetration test: from gathering information about the system and the application to identifying vulnerabilities through manual testing and the use of vulnerability scanners to both basic and advanced exploitation techniques that may lead to a full system compromise. Finally, we will put this into the context of OWASP and the top 10 web application vulnerabilities you are most likely to encounter, equipping you with the ability to combat them effectively. By the end of the book, you will have the required skills to identify, exploit, and prevent web application vulnerabilities.

What you will learn

Set up a penetration testing laboratory in a secure way
Find out what information is useful to gather when performing penetration tests and where to look for it
Use crawlers and spiders to investigate an entire website in minutes
Discover security vulnerabilities in web applications in the web browser and using command-line tools
Improve your testing efficiency with the use of automated vulnerability scanners
Exploit vulnerabilities that require a complex setup, run custom-made exploits, and prepare for extraordinary scenarios
Set up Man in the Middle attacks and use them to identify and exploit security flaws within the communication between users and the web server
Create a malicious site that will find and exploit vulnerabilities in the user's web browser
Repair the most common web vulnerabilities and understand how to prevent them becoming a threat to a site's security

About the Author

Gilberto Najera-Gutierrez leads the Security Testing Team (STT) at Sm4rt Security Services, one of the top security firms in Mexico.

He is also an Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), an EC-Council Certified Security Administrator (ECSA), and holds a master's degree in computer science with specialization in artificial intelligence.

He has been working as a Penetration Tester since 2013 and has been a security enthusiast since high school; he has successfully conducted penetration tests on networks and applications of some of the biggest corporations in Mexico, such as government agencies and financial institutions.

Table of Contents

Setting Up Kali Linux
Reconnaissance
Crawlers and Spiders
Finding Vulnerabilities
Automated Scanners
Exploitation – Low Hanging Fruits
Advanced Exploitation
Man in the Middle Attacks
Client-Side Attacks and Social Engineering
Mitigation of OWASP Top 10