CAPEC-22: Exploiting Trust in Client
Description
An attack of this type exploits vulnerabilities in client/server communication channel authentication and data integrity. It leverages the implicit trust a server places in the client, or more importantly, that which the server believes is the client. An attacker executes this type of attack by communicating directly with the server where the server believes it is communicating only with a valid client. There are numerous variations of this type of attack.
- Likelihood of attack
- High
- Typical severity
- High
- Abstraction
- MetaA decidedly abstract characterisation of a methodology or technique.
Mechanism of attack: Subvert Access Control
Prerequisites
- Server software must rely on client side formatted and validated values, and not reinforce these checks on the server side.
Skills required
- MediumThe attacker must have fairly detailed knowledge of the syntax and semantics of client/server communications protocols and grammars
Consequences
- ConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
Execute Unauthorized Commands
Run Arbitrary Code
- ConfidentialityAccess ControlAuthorization
Gain Privileges
- Confidentiality
Read Data
Mitigations
- Design: Ensure that client process and/or message is authenticated so that anonymous communications and/or messages are not accepted by the system.
- Design: Do not rely on client validation or encoding for security purposes.
- Design: Utilize digital signatures to increase authentication assurance.
- Design: Utilize two factor authentication to increase authentication assurance.
- Implementation: Perform input validation for all remote content.