Developer's Guide to Web Application Security

Summary

CGI programs can be a great benefit or a great burden, depending on whether

you’ve protected yourself against possible vulnerabilities that can be used to hack

your site. We saw in this chapter that CGI programs and scripts run on the server

side, and act as an intermediary between the Web server and an external application.

They are used on numerous sites on the Web, and for a variety of purposes. In terms

of e-commerce sites, they are essential to the method in which business is con-

ducted, and many sites cannot function without them.

Break-ins resulting from weak CGI scripts can occur in a variety of ways.This

may be through gaining access ...