Security Misconfiguration: How it Affects and How it's Defeated?

Quick Summary: The aftermath of security misconfiguration can cause a significant loss to businesses if not properly taken care of; a minor oversight later becomes a complex puzzle of risks. Thus, we've carefully created this guide that covers security misconfiguration's impact, its examples, and defending strategies to overcome the vulnerabilities it fosters.

Imagine you have created a foolproof plan of action to give a tough fight to attackers, leaving them bewildered by the fact that there is no way they can exploit your sensitive data for their nasty purposes!

But all of a sudden, what you witness is a breach of data through unauthorized access, which leaves you wondering! Despite implementing revamped security measures, how did things fail if you have enforced competent security measures for your digital assets?

That's when you need to take a step back and consider the factor of security misconfiguration! Security misconfiguration is like leaving your house's front door unlocked when you go out. Then, there is no point in the door being able to protect your house 10X stronger than your old door!

The concept of security misconfiguration must be diligently understood and considered when it comes to safeguarding your data. Failing to take care of security configuration can show its adverse effects in the form of malicious attacks like unauthorized access and data breaches, which can cause huge financial losses.

According to IBM's survey, 85.57% of the organizations that responded stated that data breaches resulted in higher prices for their business products or services, ultimately transferring the costs to consumers.

To help you keep a safe distance from such massive security threats, we’ve created this blog for you. You will get a thorough idea about security misconfiguration, including prime examples and steadfast strategies to leave no chance of security misconfiguration while it is set up!

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What is Security Misconfiguration?

Security misconfiguration refers to improper configuration of security settings in software, web applications, servers, or any other digital infrastructure. It ensues when default configurations are not modified, unrequired features are left enabled, or security measures like access control are not properly enforced.

Let's take an example: if a web server's configuration is not capable of handling users' authentication, there is a high chance it might allow unauthorized access to confidential information or assets. Similarly, leaving default credentials unchanged or not implementing requisite security patches results in vulnerabilities that attackers get attracted to.

Statista's survey about security threats says that among cybersecurity experts, 65% of respondents globally identified cloud platform misconfiguration as the primary security concern in public cloud environments. Following closely, 54% of respondents highlighted the exfiltration of sensitive data as the second most significant threat.

Additionally, 34% of respondents identified foreign state-sponsored cyberattacks as the primary security risk in public cloud environments.

The Impact of Security Misconfiguration

Here's how the impact of OWASP security misconfiguration can be seen. Refer to these points and learn how adversely security misconfiguration can create its impact.

1. Data Breach

Security misconfigurations impact becomes equally vast and adverse which includes an easy unauthorized access to data that results in data breaches. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach is 4.35 million US dollars. Security misconfigured attacks take complete advantage of misconfigured settings to exploit confidential information like customer data, financial records, or any intellectual property.

2. Financial Losses

Security misconfiguration is one of OWASP's top 10 vulnerabilities because the impact it creates is quite difficult to tackle and leads businesses to bear critical consequences. Unauthorized access creates the aftermath by exploiting data, causing great damage to businesses' goodwill. Not just that, businesses have to undergo huge financial losses to address and fix misconfiguration issues.

3. Regulatory Compliance Issues

Many industries adhere to rigid regulations with regard to data protection and privacy. Security misconfigurations that lead to data breaches can result in non-compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS. This non-compliance exposes organizations to legal repercussions and financial penalties.

4. Operational Disruption

Security misconfigurations can cause operational disruptions like website downtime and system crashes, which leads to affected productivity and business disruptions. These repercussions can also cause primary services to become unavailable, which dramatically affects business revenue.

5. Intellectual Property Theft

Unauthorized access not just harms intellectual property but can rob it of its misusage. It can also include proprietary software, trade secrets, or research and development data. Attackers can cause massive damage to the innovation capabilities of businesses.

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What are the Common Reasons for Security Misconfiguration?

Let’s learn about common reasons behind security misconfiguration for crafting even stronger strategies to prevent security misconfiguration.

Complexity

Modern IT infrastructures are complex as they comprise different interconnected systems, applications, and other services. Every component like databases, servers, network devices, and app frameworks has their respective set of configuration options. As the system upgrades and becomes more intricate, the chances of misconfiguration increase because of the sheer volume of settings that need to be managed.

Human Error

Human errors are often the key reason behind security misconfigurations. This can take place during initial setup, routine maintenance, or updates. Such blunders might include typing errors, improper settings, or misinterpreting configuration options.

Insufficient Testing

Inadequate testing of configurations before deployment process can increase the chances of security misconfigurations. Changes made in development or staging environments are sometimes left untested under realistic conditions which can lead to overlooked security issues.

Rapid Deployment

In fast-paced development and deployment environments, the teams work under pressure to meet deadlines and release updates quickly. Such strict deadlines can lead to overlooked security issues, which often result in security misconfiguration.

Default Settings

There are many systems that have default settings that are not highly secured. The purpose behind these default settings is to simplify the process of initial setup but it can leave the system vulnerable to potential security threats if not adjusted. Default usernames, passwords, and open ports can become significant security risks if left unchanged.

Third-Party Components

Using third-party tools, libraries, or services introduces additional complexity and potential misconfiguration risks. These components generally have their respective configuration requirements and may become vulnerable to security threats if not properly integrated.

Common Types of Security Misconfiguration

Security misconfiguration often comes with different types. Let’s learn about common types of security misconfiguration in detail to create an even robust prevention plan.

Default Credentials

Systems and applications generally come up with default usernames and passwords. These default passwords are supposed to be changed during setup to avoid unauthorized access. If not changed, attackers can easily exploit them for their nasty purposes.

Unwanted Services and Features

If there are any services or features present in the system that are no longer required, then they can be vulnerable to many potential security threats. Such unrequired services or features expand the surface of attacks.

Insecure Permissions

File and directory permissions that are improperly configured are most likely to expose confidential information or permit unauthorized modifications by granting uncontrolled access to users.

Exposed Management Interfaces

Administrative interfaces or management tools that are not strictly secured are more likely to be vulnerable to unauthorized networks. This allows attackers to gain potential control over critical systems.

Misconfigured Security Headers

Web applications use HTTP headers to safeguard against potential web-based attacks. But if they are not configured in a required manner or if headers are missing then it can make apps vulnerable to attacks like cross-site scripting (XSS) and clickjacking.

Insecure Network Configuration

Network settings that include firewall rules and route configurations are likely to expose systems to unauthorized access if not properly configured. These conditions take place if misconfigurations that either allow too much traffic or fail to limit traffic in a strict manner.

Overly Permissive CORS Policies

Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) policies determine resources’ accessibility from different domains. Misconfigured CORS settings that leniently approve users’ requests have higher chances of being vulnerable to unauthorized domains to obtain access to confidential information.

Common Security Misconfiguration Examples

Let's take a look at examples that are often found as a result of OWASP security misconfiguration. Refer to these points with realistic instances to learn more about security misconfiguration vulnerabilities.

1. Default Credentials

Failing to update default usernames and passwords for system accounts, network devices, or databases makes them vulnerable to malicious activities like unauthorized access. It's an easy job for attackers to misuse default credentials and violate systems.

Big time security misconfiguration example: In the year 2017, Equifax underwent one of the biggest data breaches in history because of a misconfigured web app vulnerability. The data breach led to the exposure of the confidential information of over 147 million individuals. Later, the revelation was made public, and attackers got access through an unpatched web application that still had default credentials set.

2. Unrestricted Access Control

If access control is not properly enforced or permissively implemented, it can grant excessive permissions to users, making unauthorized individuals entitled to exploit sensitive resources or conduct privileged actions.

Big time security misconfiguration example: In the year 2019, Capital One experienced a data breach that laid bare private information of over 100 million customers. The breach ensued because of a misconfigured web application firewall, which enabled the attacker to access sensitive data stored in AWS S3 buckets.

3. Outdated Software

Failing to update software, operating systems, and applications with prevalent security patches makes them vulnerable to exploits and vulnerabilities. Attackers actively look for outdated software to perform malicious activities easily with unauthorized access.

Big time security misconfiguration example: The WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 exploited a vulnerability in outdated versions of Windows operating system. Enterprises like the UK's National Health Service (NHS) were affected because they failed to apply the necessary security patches.

4. Insecure File Uploads

Neglecting to properly configure file upload functionality on web applications can cause security vulnerabilities like arbitrary file execution, directory traversal attacks, or the upload of malicious files.

Big time security misconfiguration example: In the year 2020, a misconfigured file upload feature in the MGM Resorts data breach caused the exposure of sensitive data of over 10 million guests.

5. Misconfigured Security Settings

Improperly configured security settings, like firewall rules, encryption settings, or security policies, can spoil the overall security posture of a system.

Big time security misconfiguration example: In the year 2018, Facebook acknowledged a security misconfiguration that adversely affected the privacy of 50 million users (about twice the population of Texas). The misconfiguration enabled unauthorized access to user accounts, which exposed personal information.

Sure-fire Strategies to Overcome Security Misconfiguration Vulnerabilities

Now that we have had a detailed understanding of security misconfiguration's impact and its examples, let's also learn how to deal with them effectively and enable security misconfiguration prevention.

1. Conduct Uniform Security Audits

Never fail to conduct regular security audits and assessments of your overall IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, applications, and cloud environments, to identify and address security misconfiguration attacks. The first practice you can follow is to ensure you are keeping all the vulnerabilities at bay by considering doing regular audits.

2. Establish Configuration Management Process

Implement a steadfast configuration management process through which you can confirm that all systems and applications are configured securely and regularly. This process comprises documenting configuration settings, consistently reviewing configurations for compliance with security protocols and standards and implementing change control procedures when required.

3. Automated Configuration Management Tools

Utilizing automation in complex processes like configuration management is indispensable as we already know what security misconfiguration attacks result in! Tripwire and Dimensional research report says that 93% of organizations are concerned about human error that leads to accidental data exposure.

Utilizing automated configuration management tools not only streamlines the entire process, but the chances of errors are seldom.

4. Patch Management and Vulnerability Remediation

Execute an effective patch management program to confirm that all the systems and web applications are kept up-to-date with the latest security patches and fixes. Instantly address known vulnerabilities with the help of web application security testing tool to protect your web apps from potential threats.

5. Regular Monitoring and Intrusion Detection

Optimize continuous monitoring and intrusion detection systems to check for unauthorized modifications in system configurations and abnormal activities related to security misconfigurations or unauthorized access attempts. If there are any security misconfiguration vulnerabilities addressed through a vulnerability scanning tool, you can immediately act upon them with needful actions.

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Optimize ZeroThreat for Ensuring Proper Security Configuration

Security misconfigurations are all about the result of trivial oversights or improper enforcement. As you learned about common big-time examples of misconfigurations and the super-defending strategies to avoid them, we hope that it will dramatically help you maintain robust security across the entire digital infrastructure.

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