Building Web Applications with UML Second Edition

Server-Side Risks

Once placed on a network, a server is vulnerable to attack. When placed on a public network, such as the Internet, a server is even more likely to be attacked. The major goal of an attack is to either gain control of the server or extract valuable information from it. Achieving the first will make achieving the second trivial.

The specific risks of Web application servers—those processing HTTP Web requests—are like those for most systems and relate to improper configuration, or bugs, in the software. A cracker will exploit a bug in a server's software or an improperly configured system. The most common configuration mistakes involve the enabling of optional features not required for the application. For example, one common feature ...