Application logic vulnerabilities

Overview

These vulnerabilities stem from weaknesses in how the app is programmed. If exploited, an attacker could gain unauthorized access to user data or even control of the app itself. Application logic vulnerabilities occur when design and coding decisions allow the normal logic of the application to be manipulated by attackers. These vulnerabilities often result from faulty assumptions about the behavior of users or data, leading to exploitation. Attackers can manipulate the app to perform unintended actions, potentially leading to unauthorized access, privilege escalation, or data manipulation.

Risk factors

Application logic vulnerabilities can arise from:

  • Lack of input validation or sanitization.
  • Poorly implemented business logic workflows.
  • Incorrect assumptions about user behavior, such as assuming certain actions will only be performed in a specific order.
  • No clear segregation of user roles and permissions.
  • Insufficient checks on user actions, like assuming a user cannot bypass a required step.
  • Weak or missing code obfuscation measures.
  • Failure to implement rate limiting, allowing attackers to exploit logic flaws repeatedly.
  • Insecure API design, as logic flaws in APIs can expose sensitive functions and data.

Consequences

If an attacker successfully exploits application logic vulnerabilities, the following could happen:

  • Unauthorized access: Attackers may bypass authentication checks and gain access to restricted data or functions.
  • Data manipulation: Attackers can manipulate user inputs to change data in unintended ways, such as altering transaction amounts in a banking app.
  • Privilege escalation: Exploiting flaws in the logic may allow attackers to elevate their permissions, gaining control of administrative functions.
  • Loss of control: Attackers could manipulate the flow of the application to perform unintended actions, such as executing unintended code paths or revealing hidden functionalities.

Solutions and best practices

To mitigate the risks associated with application logic vulnerabilities, organizations should implement the following security measures:

  • Input validation: Implement strong input validation and sanitization to ensure data from users cannot be manipulated.
  • Code obfuscation: Use code obfuscation techniques to make reverse engineering the application's logic more difficult.
  • Security testing: Conduct thorough security testing, including logic testing, to ensure that all workflows behave as expected under different conditions.
  • Access control: Ensure that user roles are properly enforced, and critical functions are restricted to authorized users.
  • Logging and monitoring: Implement comprehensive logging and monitoring to detect unusual behaviors or patterns that might indicate an attacker is manipulating the application’s logic.
  • App shielding: App shielding can be particularly useful in making it difficult for attackers to understand and exploit the logic, as it adds layers of security, such as runtime application self-protection (RASP) and tampering detection.

 

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Further reading

 
Broken authentication Previous Insecure direct object references (IDOR) Next