Pro PHP Security: From Application Security Principles to the Implementation of XSS Defenses, Second Edition

What Kinds of Attacks Are Web Applications Vulnerable To?

It is probably obvious that any web application that collects information from users is vulnerable to automated attack. It may not be so obvious that even websites that passively transfer information to users are equally vulnerable. In other cases, it may not even matter which way the information is flowing. We discuss here a few examples of all three kinds of vulnerabilities.

When Users Provide Information

One of the most common kinds of web applications allows users to enter information. Later, that information may be stored and retrieved. We are concerned right now, however, simply with the data, imagined to be innocuous, that people type in.

Human Attacks

Humans are capable of using ...