Mastering Kali Linux for Advanced Penetration Testing - Third Edition

Web application hacking methodology

Systematic and goal-oriented penetration testing always starts with the right methodology. The following diagram shows how web application hacking is done:

The methodology is divided into six stages: set target, spider and enumerate, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, cover tracks, and maintain access. These are explained in detail as follows:

1. Set target: Setting the right target during a penetration test is very important, as attackers will focus more on specific vulnerable systems to gain system-level access, as per the kill chain method.
2. Spider and enumerate: At this point, attackers have identified ...