Adversaries can steal user application access tokens as a means of acquiring credentials to access remote systems and resources. This can occur through social engineering or URI hijacking and typically requires user action to grant access, such as through a system “Open With” dialogue. Application access tokens are used to make authorized API requests on behalf of a user and are commonly used as a way to access resources in cloud-based applications and software-as-a-service (SaaS).(Citation: Auth0 - Why You Should Always Use Access Tokens to Secure APIs Sept 2019) OAuth is one commonly implemented framework used to issue tokens to users for access to systems. An application desiring access to cloud-based services or protected APIs can gain entry through OAuth 2.0 using a variety of authorization protocols. An example of a commonly-used sequence is Microsoft's Authorization Code Grant flow.(Citation: Microsoft Identity Platform Protocols May 2019)(Citation: Microsoft - OAuth Code Authorization flow - June 2019) An OAuth access token enables a third-party application to interact with resources containing user data in the ways requested without requiring user credentials.
New mobile operating system versions bring not only patches against discovered vulnerabilities but also often bring security architecture improvements that provide resilience against potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses that have not yet been discovered. They may also bring improvements that block use of observed adversary techniques.
M1011User GuidanceDescribes any guidance or training given to users to set particular configuration settings or avoid specific potentially risky behaviors.
M1013Application Developer GuidanceApplication Developer Guidance focuses on providing developers with the knowledge, tools, and best practices needed to write secure code, reduce vulnerabilities, and implement secure design principles. By integrating security throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC), this mitigation aims to prevent the introduction of exploitable weaknesses in applications, systems, and APIs. This mitigation can be implemented through the following measures: Preventing SQL Injection (Secure Coding Practice): - Implementation: Train developers to use parameterized queries or prepared statements instead of directly embedding user input into SQL queries. - Use Case: A web application accepts user input to search a database. By sanitizing and validating user inputs, developers can prevent attackers from injecting malicious SQL commands. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Mitigation: - Implementation: Require developers to implement output encoding for all user-generated content displayed on a web page. - Use Case: An e-commerce site allows users to leave product reviews. Properly encoding and escaping user inputs prevents malicious scripts from being executed in other users’ browsers. Secure API Design: - Implementation: Train developers to authenticate all API endpoints and avoid exposing sensitive information in API responses. - Use Case: A mobile banking application uses APIs for account management. By enforcing token-based authentication for every API call, developers reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Static Code Analysis in the Build Pipeline: - Implementation: Incorporate tools into CI/CD pipelines to automatically scan for vulnerabilities during the build process. - Use Case: A fintech company integrates static analysis tools to detect hardcoded credentials in their source code before deployment. Threat Modeling in the Design Phase: - Implementation: Use frameworks like STRIDE (Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, Elevation of Privilege) to assess threats during application design. - Use Case: Before launching a customer portal, a SaaS company identifies potential abuse cases, such as session hijacking, and designs mitigations like secure session management. **Tools for Implementation**: - Static Code Analysis Tools: Use tools that can scan for known vulnerabilities in source code. - Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): Use tools like Burp Suite or OWASP ZAP to simulate runtime attacks and identify vulnerabilities. - Secure Frameworks: Recommend secure-by-default frameworks (e.g., Django for Python, Spring Security for Java) that enforce security best practices.
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