CyberCode Academy

Course 1 - BurpSuite Bug Bounty Web Hacking from Scratch | Episode 6: Broken Authentication and Session Management: Exploits and Defenses


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In this lesson, you’ll learn about:
  • Broken Authentication and Session Management (BASM):
    • A critical OWASP Top 10 vulnerability that arises from poor handling of user authentication and session controls.
    • Common causes include developer negligence and insecure practices that allow attackers to hijack or reuse valid sessions.
  • Key causes and developer mistakes:
    • Exposing session IDs in the URL.
    • Failing to implement proper session timeouts.
    • Reusing the same session ID before and after login.
    • Storing or transmitting session cookies insecurely, making them vulnerable to theft (e.g., via XSS).
  • Common exploitation methods:
    1. Brute Force Attacks:
      • Attackers use automated tools (like Burp Suite Intruder in cluster bomb mode) to guess valid username-password pairs.
      • Exploits weak password policies or lack of rate-limiting.
    2. SQL Injection Login Bypass:
      • Attackers inject malicious SQL payloads (e.g., 1=1, ' OR '1'='1) into login fields.
      • The server interprets the input as a valid condition, granting unauthorized access without valid credentials.
  • Prevention and mitigation strategies:
    • Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adds an extra verification layer against stolen or brute-forced credentials.
    • Enforce strong password policies: Disallow weak or default credentials; check against known password breach lists.
    • Prevent account enumeration: Use identical messages for login, registration, and recovery outcomes.
    • Limit failed login attempts: Apply lockouts, rate limits, and alert administrators of repeated failures.
    • Use secure session management:
      • Generate new random session IDs after login (high entropy).
      • Avoid placing session IDs in URLs.
      • Invalidate sessions on logout or inactivity.
      • Store session data securely on the server side.
  • Core takeaway:
    Understanding BASM helps identify how insecure session handling and weak authentication mechanisms can compromise entire systems. Applying layered defenses ensures both authentication robustness and session integrity.


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CyberCode AcademyBy CyberCode Academy