Web Application Patch Validation via Action Replay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for validating security vulnerabilities in online web applications are time-consuming and inefficient, allowing potential vulnerabilities to remain unaddressed for extended periods, as they rely on manual reporting and validation by security researchers, which delays the patching process and provides hackers with a longer window of opportunity to exploit them.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that records and replays actions within a web browser to verify security vulnerabilities, generates detection scripts to block identified vulnerabilities, and validates software patches by automatically executing recorded actions to determine if the vulnerability has been successfully removed, thereby streamlining the validation and patching process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual validation by security researchers is used, then validation accuracy is maintained, but validation time and window of opportunity for hackers increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates automated copies of the vulnerability validation process by recording researcher actions and replaying them against the application. The recorded sequence of actions (navigation, input, assertions) is replicated automatically to verify vulnerabilities without requiring continuous manual intervention, thus maintaining validation accuracy while reducing time loss
Solution Approach 2:
The validation system performs self-service by automatically executing recorded actions and assertions against the web application. The system records its own validation steps and replays them to verify vulnerabilities, eliminating the need for researchers to manually re-validate each time and reducing the window of opportunity for hackers
2Reliability
If manual patch validation is performed, then patch reliability is ensured, but patch deployment time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent copies the manual patch validation process into an automated replay system. Recorded validation actions are replayed automatically against patched applications to verify patch effectiveness, ensuring patch reliability while dramatically increasing deployment speed by eliminating manual re-validation
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by automatically replaying validation assertions against patched applications and comparing results against expected outcomes. This feedback mechanism confirms patch reliability through automated verification while enabling rapid deployment cycles without manual intervention
3Reliability
If researchers manually validate vulnerabilities, then validation thoroughness is maintained, but researcher productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent copies researcher validation actions into automated playback recordings. The recorded sequence of actions and assertions is replayed automatically to maintain validation thoroughness while freeing researchers from repetitive manual validation tasks, thereby increasing overall productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by recording validation steps during initial vulnerability discovery. These recorded actions serve as templates for automated replay, ensuring thorough validation is maintained while researchers can focus on new vulnerability discovery rather than repetitive verification
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for patch validation via replay and remediation verification is provided. A method comprises: receiving, from a researcher computer, a report of a potential vulnerability that the researcher computer identified in a computer program application that the researcher computer accessed via a first web browser, the report comprising a record of actions performed by the researcher computer, a first outcome of the actions, and Document Object Model (DOM) events that the application outputted when the record of actions was generated; automatically generating an executable script from the record of actions, wherein the executable script, when executed, causes the web browser to perform the actions that are recorded in the record of actions; verifying the report of the potential vulnerability by executing the executable script in a second web browser and determining that a second outcome of the actions matches the first outcome that was recorded in the record of actions; determining that the first outcome of the actions is associated with a security vulnerability.