Explore OWASP Top 10 the flagship project crystallizes the most pressing web application vulnerabilities, offering a concise snapshot of the current cyber threat landscape and mapping it to CWE. Explore how the data insights can help in your vulnerability management and application security program.
Serving as a beacon for developers, security professionals, and organizations, OWASP functions to facilitate the creation of trustworthy software and services. Its mission is rooted in the belief that every piece of software deserves to be secure from inception to deployment.
Here we explore one of OWASP’s flagship projects, the OWASP Top 10, a widely respected list that highlights the most critical security risks for web applications. This resource serves as a fundamental guide for improving application security and is utilized by organizations worldwide to enhance their vulnerability management practices.
At Phoenix, we’ve partnered with OWASP to offer free licenses to OWASP members, ensuring that security teams have access to our innovative vulnerability management software to better support their efforts in application security.
Explore how OWASP’s data insights can be leveraged for your vulnerability management and application security programs, strengthening your cybersecurity and reducing risk across your organization.
Unlocking Cybersecurity Excellence: Mastering OWASP Top 10
The OWASP Top 10 list serves as a cornerstone in the world of application security. However, like a software patch on Patch Tuesday, this list isn’t static. It evolves to mirror the ever-changing landscape of security vulnerabilities. This post dives into how OWASP Top 10 categories have shifted over the years, offering insights for vulnerability management and application security programs.
Explore how the data insights can help in your vulnerability management and application security program.
Methodology
We analyzed a dataset containing the OWASP Top 10 categories and their rankings from 2003 to 2021. The aim is to capture the ebbs and flows in the significance of different vulnerabilities, providing a roadmap for application security.
Broken Access Control: This category had no ranking until 2017, where it debuted at number 5. In the 2021 list, it skyrocketed to the top position. That’s like a newcomer stealing the show at a whiskey tasting event!
Sensitive Data Exposure / Cryptographic Failures: Holding steady at the 8th position from 2003 to 2007, this category moved up to 7th in 2010 and further ascended to 3rd in 2017 and 2nd in 2021. It’s like a marathoner picking up pace as the finish line approaches.
Injection (Identification & Auth Failure):This category has been a consistent high-performer, like that single malt you can always rely on. Starting at 6th in 2003, it moved up to top positions in subsequent years.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): This category has seen some ups and downs, like a scenic run through hilly terrain. It held the top position in 2007 but descended to 7th in 2017, climbing back to 3rd in 2021.
Insecure Design (New): This category is a fresh entry in 2021, taking the 4th spot. It’s like when you discover a new running trail that quickly becomes a favorite.
Understanding these shifts is key for Phoenix Security’s vulnerability management strategies. Newer categories like “Broken Access Control” need immediate attention, while we also maintain focus on evergreen issues like “Injection.”
Unlocking Cybersecurity Excellence: Mastering OWASP Top 10
OWASP, or the Open Web Application Security Project, is our guiding star in this journey. It’s the definitive source for everything related to application security. If you’re unfamiliar with OWASP, think of it as the guardian angel of your applications, shielding them from the dark forces of the internet. And at the heart of OWASP’s guidance lies the OWASP Top 10.
Contribution: https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/
The OWASP Top 10: Our North Star in AppSec
The OWASP Top 10 represents the most critical web application security risks, curated by cybersecurity experts from around the globe. It serves as a roadmap to prioritize vulnerabilities and protect your digital assets. In essence, it’s a lifeline for organizations like ours, rooted in vulnerability management and application security.
Now, let’s shed some light on a specific topic – the Phoenix Security Exploitability. Picture this: like a legendary bird that rises from its ashes, the Phoenix Security Exploitability embodies the ability to emerge stronger after security breaches. It’s an art, and we’re the masters of it.
A01:2021 – Broken Access Control This category has moved up from the fifth position, indicating its increasing importance. A whopping 94% of applications were tested for some form of broken access control. The 34 Common Weakness Enumerations (CWEs) mapped to Broken Access Control had more occurrences in applications than any other category. It’s clear that ensuring proper access control is a fundamental aspect of application security.
A02:2021 – Cryptographic Failures Previously known as Sensitive Data Exposure, this category has shifted up one position to the #2 spot. The renewed focus here is on failures related to cryptography, which can often lead to sensitive data exposure or system compromise. Proper encryption and cryptographic practices are crucial to safeguarding sensitive information.
A03:2021 – Injection Injection has slid down to the third position but remains a significant concern. 94% of the applications were tested for some form of injection. This category includes 33 CWEs, and it’s noteworthy that Cross-site Scripting (XSS) is now part of this category in this edition.
A04:2021 – Insecure Design This is a new category for 2021, emphasizing risks related to design flaws. To “move left” as an industry, it calls for more use of threat modeling, secure design patterns, principles, and reference architectures. Identifying and addressing design flaws early in the development process is crucial for security.
A05:2021 – Security Misconfiguration Security Misconfiguration has moved up from the #6 position in the previous edition. 90% of applications were tested for some form of misconfiguration. With more shifts into highly configurable software, it’s not surprising to see this category move up. XML External Entities (XXE) is now part of this category.
A06:2021 – Vulnerable and Outdated Components This category, previously titled Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities, is #2 in the Top 10 community survey. It has moved up from #9 in 2017 and is a known issue that organizations struggle to test and assess risk. Notably, it is the only category without any Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVEs) mapped to the included CWEs, making it challenging to manage.
A07:2021 – Identification and Authentication Failures Previously known as Broken Authentication, this category is sliding down from the second position. It now includes CWEs that are more related to identification failures. While it’s still integral to the Top 10, the increased availability of standardized frameworks appears to be helping.
A08:2021 – Software and Data Integrity Failures A new category for 2021, this focuses on making assumptions related to software updates, critical data, and CI/CD pipelines without verifying integrity. Insecure Deserialization from 2017 is now part of this larger category. Ensuring the integrity of software and data is crucial for maintaining security.
A09:2021 – Security Logging and Monitoring Failures Previously Insufficient Logging & Monitoring, this category is added from the industry survey (#3) and has moved up from #10 previously. It’s expanded to include more types of failures. Despite being challenging to test for, failures in this category can directly impact visibility, incident alerting, and forensics.
A10:2021 – Server-Side Request Forgery Added from the Top 10 community survey (#1), this category represents scenarios where the security community members emphasize its importance, even though data may not illustrate its prevalence. It’s a reminder that community insights can be invaluable in shaping security priorities.
In the ever-evolving landscape of application security, two frameworks often emerge as critical benchmarks: the OWASP Top 10 and Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE). This post aims to connect the dots between these two essential frameworks by focusing on the frequency of CWEs in the OWASP Top 10 list. Buckle up — it’s going to be a wild ride through the world of exploitability, vulnerability management, and AppSec!
The dataset we analyzed consists of multiple instances where CWEs are mapped to OWASP Top 10 categories. For instance, CWE-1004 is mapped to OWASP category A05:2021, which deals with security misconfiguration.
The sheer variety of CWEs mapped to OWASP categories highlights the need for a robust vulnerability management strategy. By focusing on the CWEs most frequently appearing in the OWASP Top 10, Phoenix Security can enhance its exploitability and vulnerability management protocols.
The mapping between CWE and the OWASP Top 10 is a crucial element in strengthening application security programs. It aids in the effective allocation of resources for vulnerability management, which is especially vital in AppSec.
So the next time you’re working on your application security, don’t forget to raise a toast to OWASP and CWE. After all, in the words of a famous philosopher: “To secure or not to secure, that is the CVE.”
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Derek Fisher – Head of product security at a global fintech. Speaker, instructor, and author in application security.
Derek is an award winning author of a children’s book series in cybersecurity as well as the author of “The Application Security Handbook.” He is a university instructor at Temple University where he teaches software development security to undergraduate and graduate students. He is a speaker on topics in the cybersecurity space and has led teams, large and small, at organizations in the healthcare and financial industries. He has built and matured information security teams as well as implemented organizational information security strategies to reduce the organizations risk.
Derek got his start in the hardware engineering space where he learned about designing circuits and building assemblies for commercial and military applications. He later pursued a computer science degree in order to advance a career in software development. This is where Derek was introduced to cybersecurity and soon caught the bug. He found a mentor to help him grow in cybersecurity and then pursued a graduate degree in the subject.
Since then Derek has worked in the product security space as an architect and leader. He has led teams to deliver more secure software in organizations from multiple industries. His focus has been to raise the security awareness of the engineering organization while maintaining a practice of secure code development, delivery, and operations.
In his role, Jeevan handles a range of tasks, from architecting security solutions to collaborating with Engineering Leadership to address security vulnerabilities at scale and embed security into the fabric of the organization.
Jeevan Singh is the Director of Security Engineering at Rippling, with a background spanning various Engineering and Security leadership roles over the course of his career. He’s dedicated to the integration of security practices into software development, working to create a security-aware culture within organizations and imparting security best practices to the team.
In his role, Jeevan handles a range of tasks, from architecting security solutions to collaborating with Engineering Leadership to address security vulnerabilities at scale and embed security into the fabric of the organization.
James Berthoty has over ten years of experience across product and security domains. He founded Latio Tech to help companies find the right security tools for their needs without vendor bias.
Chris Romeo is a leading voice and thinker in application security, threat modeling, and security champions and the CEO of Devici and General Partner at Kerr Ventures. Chris hosts the award-winning “Application Security Podcast,” “The Security Table,” and “The Threat Modeling Podcast” and is a highly rated industry speaker and trainer, featured at the RSA Conference, the AppSec Village @ DefCon, OWASP Global AppSec, ISC2 Security Congress, InfoSec World and All Day DevOps. Chris founded Security Journey, a security education company, leading to an exit in 2022. Chris was the Chief Security Advocate at Cisco, spreading security knowledge through education and champion programs. Chris has twenty-six years of security experience, holding positions across the gamut, including application security, security engineering, incident response, and various Executive roles. Chris holds the CISSP and CSSLP certifications.
Jim Manico is the founder of Manicode Security, where he trains software developers on secure coding and security engineering. Jim is also the founder of Brakeman Security, Inc. and an investor/advisor for Signal Sciences. He is the author of Iron-Clad Java: Building Secure Web Applications (McGraw-Hill), a frequent speaker on secure software practices, and a member of the JavaOne Rockstar speaker community. Jim is also a volunteer for and former board member of the OWASP foundation.
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