Prevent Business Logic Attacks: The Role of Web App Security Testing Software

Quick Summary: Business logic attacks are more serious than common attacks because they are hard to detect and prevent. This blog provides detailed information about business logic attacks and the role of web application security testing tools in preventing them. Read on to get the right information to protect your web apps against these threats.

Imagine your dev team has coded an application, they have performed security scans, and it lands in production but gets hacked. What went wrong? Most teams, when it comes to AppSec, look for common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, misconfigurations, broken authentication, etc, but a more complex risk – business logic flaws – escapes their eyes.

Consequently, web applications and APIs become victims of business logic attacks. This is because traditional DevSecOps security tools are designed to detect known vulnerabilities, such as OWASP Top 10 and CWE Top 25. Business logic vulnerabilities are different and complex that traditional security tools cannot detect.

On top of that, complex applications with multiple microservices or third-party integrations make it even more difficult to detect such vulnerabilities. That’s where advanced web application security testing software comes into the picture.

They are cutting-edge software solutions to identify complex vulnerabilities and prevent business logic attacks. In this blog, we’ll explore more about business logic attacks and how web application software tools are vital in stopping such threats.

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What are Business Logic Attacks and How Do They Work?

Business logic attacks (BLAs) are a type of cyberattack in which the attacker exploits flaws in a web application’s core rules, workflows, and design. They are different from traditional attacks that exploit technical vulnerabilities; rather, these attacks involve taking advantage of an application’s legitimate feature by performing unintended actions.

These attacks bypass security measures and manipulate application workflows. Business logic vulnerabilities (BLVs) in web apps are the culprits behind such attacks. They are security weaknesses that are inherent in the design and implementation of the application’s business logic. In contrast to common vulnerabilities, such as injection flaws, they occur due to unexpected user interactions with the app.

BLVs occur due to improper input validation, error handling, implementation flaws, and wrong assumptions about how users will interact with the app. For example, an application expects users to follow a sequence of actions. Still, an attacker doesn’t do it and discovers that missing a step or repeating one results in the disclosure of sensitive information.

Failure to handle edge cases, inefficient validation between components, and excessive users of client-side interactions are also causes of business logic vulnerabilities. These issues increase as applications become more complex and the probability of BLVs rises.

Business logic abuses by attackers lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, and information disclosure. In essence, BLVs are critical vulnerabilities that lead to major security and business risks that cannot be addressed with traditional security tools and measures.

How Does Web Application Security Testing Software Help Discover Business Logic Vulnerabilities?

Detection of business logic vulnerabilities requires a combination of automated and manual testing approaches. While automated web application security testing tools are capable of identifying certain patterns and anomalies that indicate BLVs, manual testing offers deeper analysis by testing it in creative ways.

AppSec teams need different automated software solutions to identify BLVs and prevent business logic attacks. These solutions include Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), SAST (Static Application Security Testing), SCA (Software Composition Analysis), etc.

Dynamic web application security testing software can simulate different scenarios of web application usage, including the business logic scenario. As a result, it allows AppSec teams to test a web app under different conditions to verify it works as expected and discover potential vulnerabilities.

Similarly, static web application security testing tools identify logic flaws by analyzing code. By analyzing the code and behavior of an application, WAST tools can identify business logic flaws such as improper input validation, unauthorized access, security check bypass, and unexpected behavior.

Key Tests to Discover Business Logic Vulnerabilities in Web Applications

OWASP’s Web Application Security Testing Guide (WASTG) offers comprehensive information on business logic testing. It suggests the following tests to identify vulnerabilities and prevent potential business logic attacks.

Data Validation

Input fields are the common entry points for attackers, and they often take advantage of inadequate validation of user-supplied data. WASTG by OWASP states that AppSec teams should verify that only valid data is entered via the front-end or directly on the server side of an application.

Security testing tools for web applications thoroughly check for input validation. They use techniques like fuzzing to simulate attacks with random inputs and track application behavior to flag a potential vulnerability.

Forged Requests

Another key test for web apps, as stated by WASTG, is evaluating the ability to forge requests that allow an attacker to bypass business logic and force an application to perform unexpected actions. In this technique, the attacker circumvents the front end to submit information directly to the server through an intercepting proxy.

Testing for this vulnerability includes checking applications with HTTP POST/GET requests to identify any hidden functions or guessable elements that attackers can exploit. Changing values to track application behavior can help identify flaws.

Integrity Checks

Often web apps have multiple fields, and some of them may be hidden depending on different user cases. The web application security testing guide by OWASP states that AppSec teams should ensure that the application smartly handles such scenarios and prevent attackers from submitting hidden field values directly to the server through a web browser or proxy. The guide also suggests that security controls should be effective in preventing any user from manipulating logs.

Process Timing

The next technique for web application security testing is process timing. An attacker can observe the time an application takes to process or complete a request. By understanding the time, the attacker can try to break out or manipulate the business flow by keeping the session open.

This will allow the attacker to gain crucial application information on the background processes to guess actions and exploit. For this, WASTG suggests identifying injection points by checking a business flow diagram and finding time-dependent processes.

Limits for the Number of Function Calls

Another type of testing AppSec teams need to perform on a web app is the number of times a function is called. Often, web apps have limits to how many times a function can be called that an attacker can bypass to cause the function to execute more than this limit.

For example, an attacker can exploit an insecure eCommerce app to force the discount function to execute many times and reduce the price of a product.

Workflows Bypass

Another type of business logic testing that AppSec teams need to perform is circumvention of workflows. An attacker may take advantage of application flaws to circumvent the intended or designed workflow. It happens due to workflow vulnerability that arises when an attacker can skip or break out of the intended steps to complete a task.

Application Misuse Defenses

This type of test is meant to check if there are application-layer defenses in place to protect against misuse of valid functionality. For example, if a legitimate application user tries to access a file ID, they are not permitted to do so as per the user role. Testing for defenses against application misuse enables AppSec teams to identify weaknesses related to unauthorized actions.

Uploading of Unexpected Files

Web applications that allow file uploads or data manipulation from files may be susceptible to cyberattacks. An attacker can upload an unexpected file with harmful code to manipulate business logic. Hence, WASTG suggests that AppSec teams test web applications to upload unexpected files and identify potential risks.

Malicious File Upload

Often, in web apps, the business processes allow users to input files. Input validation is complicated to implement for files. AppSec teams need to test the web app for the upload of malicious files. This type of test evaluates whether the application allows only trusted file types, scans files for malicious content, or is susceptible to malicious file uploads.

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Top Web Application Security Testing Tools to Uncover Business Logic Vulnerabilities [Compared]

The following are the top 3 web application security testing software for business logic vulnerabilities.

Key Strategies to Prevent Business Logic Attacks

The following strategies are helpful in business logic attack prevention.

Early Detection

Making security testing an integral part of the SLDC instead of an afterthought can help minimize the risk of BLAs. Identify business logic vulnerabilities through web app security software in the early phases. Testing should begin at the initial phase of application design to understand the business processes supported by the app and potential areas that can be abused. Use risk assessment and threat modeling techniques to detect issues early and build stronger controls.

Manual Code Reviews

Manual code reviews by peers from a security point of view can help uncover critical issues that automated tools may miss. This can help identify potential issues related to complex business logic vulnerabilities. Code reviews in SDLC also encourage developers to follow the best coding practices and guidelines to build secure applications.

Automated Tools

Automated security testing tools such as SAST and DAST tools can help scan applications within SDLC to identify and report issues. This will allow the dev teams to quickly respond and resolve issues before deploying applications to production. These tools can integrate into CI/CD pipelines where issues can be identified automatically with every code commit and merge.

Clear Code

Clear and well-documented code allows dev and security teams to clearly understand the application’s intended behavior and accurately identify potential loopholes. Using the right coding practices and following a consistent standard will reduce potential issues significantly.

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With next-gen crawler and AI-powered remediation reports, ZeroThreat empowers DevSecOps teams to detect and remediate more complex vulnerabilities accurately before your web app is deployed in production.

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Closing Thought

Your business logic is the brain of your app. If it’s manipulated, your app will be broken. Act now to protect your web application before this nightmare becomes real. The role of web application security testing software in protecting against business logic cannot be underestimated.

By integrating web app testing software into your SDLC, your AppSec team can continuously scan and detect vulnerabilities before your application goes live. They provide real-time alerts for vulnerabilities detected during tests and ensure application security.

ZeroThreat’s vulnerability scanner stands out from the rest with cutting-edge features and AI-driven functionalities. It simplifies security testing and reduces the burden on AppSec teams.