Mastering OWASP Top 10 Web Security Risks: A Practical Guide

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Hany Reda recently completed the OWASP Top 10 (Web) 2021 course via MaharaTech, covering critical web vulnerabilities. Below is an expanded breakdown of key risks, along with actionable commands, code snippets, and mitigation steps.

1. Broken Access Control

Risk: Unauthorized access to restricted resources.

You Should Know:

  • Use Linux file permission checks:
    chmod 750 /sensitive/directory  Restrict access
ls -l /path/to/file  Verify permissions
  • Implement role-based access in code (Python Flask example):
    from flask import abort
def admin_route():
if not current_user.is_admin:
abort(403)  Forbidden

2. Cryptographic Failures

Risk: Weak encryption exposing sensitive data.

You Should Know:

  • Use OpenSSL for strong encryption:
    openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -salt -in plaintext.txt -out encrypted.enc
  • Avoid deprecated algorithms (e.g., MD5):
    openssl dgst -sha256 file.txt  Use SHA-256 instead

3. Injection (SQL/XSS)

Risk: Malicious input execution.

You Should Know:

  • Sanitize SQL inputs (Python/SQLite):
    cursor.execute("SELECT  FROM users WHERE id = ?", (user_id,))  Parameterized query
  • Block XSS in HTML (JavaScript):
    const userInput = document.getElementById('input').textContent;
document.write(DOMPurify.sanitize(userInput)); // Sanitize with DOMPurify

4. Insecure Design

Risk: Flaws in architecture/design.

You Should Know:

  • Threat modeling with OWASP Threat Dragon:
    docker run -p 3000:3000 owasp/threat-dragon

5. Security Misconfiguration

Risk: Default settings or verbose errors.

You Should Know:

  • Harden Apache/Nginx:
    sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf  Disable server_tokens
sudo systemctl restart nginx

6. Vulnerable Components

Risk: Outdated libraries.

You Should Know:

  • Scan dependencies (Node.js):
    npm audit  Check for vulnerabilities

7. Authentication Failures

Risk: Weak login mechanisms.

You Should Know:

  • Enforce MFA via Linux PAM:
    sudo apt install libpam-google-authenticator
google-authenticator  Follow prompts

8. Data Integrity Failures

Risk: Unverified downloads/updates.

You Should Know:

  • Verify file checksums:
    sha256sum downloaded_file.iso  Compare with published hash

9. Logging/Monitoring Failures

Risk: Lack of breach detection.

You Should Know:

  • Monitor logs in real-time:
    tail -f /var/log/auth.log  Watch SSH attempts

10. SSRF

Risk: Server-side forged requests.

You Should Know:

  • Block internal IPs (iptables):
    sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -d 192.168.0.0/16 -j DROP

What Undercode Say

The OWASP Top 10 is a cornerstone of web security. Mastery requires:
– Regular `git commit -m “security patches”` for code updates.
– Using `grep -r “password” /var/www` to hunt hardcoded secrets.
– Leveraging `Wireshark` (sudo wireshark) for network analysis.

Expected Output:

  • Secure web apps with zero critical CVEs.
  • Audit trails via journalctl -u apache2.

Prediction:

AI-driven penetration testing (e.g., Burp Suite AI) will dominate vulnerability assessments by 2026.

Relevant URLs:

IT/Security Reporter URL:

Reported By: Hany Reda – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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