Stored XSS Detection via Execution Engine Identifier Interception
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current black-box testing tools have limited success in determining whether web applications are vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, especially when payloads are incorporated within JSON/XML responses, making it difficult to assess if payload instructions underwent security checks before execution.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a black-box tester configured to provide a payload with an identifier to a web application, and an execution engine to detect the identifier within subsequent interactions, determining if the payload instructions underwent a security check prior to execution, using a combination of black-box testing and execution engine functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If black-box testing tools are used to detect stored XSS vulnerabilities, then testing capability is provided, but detection precision deteriorates when payloads are incorporated within JSON/XML responses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the execution engine with identifier detection) that mediates between the black-box tester and the web application. The execution engine intercepts payloads, detects identifiers, and determines whether security checks were applied, thereby enabling precise detection even when payloads are embedded in JSON/XML responses without requiring direct observation of the payload in the response stream.
2Adaptability or versatility
If payloads are incorporated within JSON/XML responses, then web application functionality is maintained, but detectability of payload instructions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the detection task from the response stream analysis and places it in the execution engine before payload execution. By extracting the identifier detection to occur during the payload execution phase rather than during response parsing, the system can detect whether security checks were applied without needing to parse or observe the embedded payload within JSON/XML responses.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for detecting security vulnerabilities in web applications, the system including, a black-box tester configured to provide a payload to a web application during a first interaction with the web application at a computer server, where the payload includes a payload instruction and an identifier, and an execution engine configured to detect the identifier within the payload received during an interaction with the web application subsequent to the first interaction, and determine, responsive to detecting the identifier within the payload, whether the payload instruction underwent a security check prior to execution of the payload instruction.