Vulnerability Testing

Vulnerability testing, is the process of identifying, evaluating, and mitigating security weaknesses in a system, network, application, or infrastructure. This approach helps organizations detect potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers, allowing them to take preventive measures before any security breach occurs.

The goal of vulnerability testing is to uncover flaws and weaknesses in a system that could lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, or other types of cyberattacks. It helps organizations understand their security posture, prioritize risks, and address them before they can be exploited.

Why Do we Need Vulnerability Testing?

Vulnerability testing finds the security loopholes that further helps the developer to cover them and safeguard an application. Some of the key points in vulnerability testing are as:

• Security: To make a system more secure and reliable, so that there is no unauthentic access and no hacker attack. Vulnerability testing tests the system to identify the security loopholes in the system and reduce them by referring them to the concerned developing team.
• Design issues: In vulnerability testing, the operating system, application software, and network are scanned to identify the security leakage that helps in identifying the drawbacks in designing the application and helps a developer to know the vulnerable areas and redesign them.
• Prioritize the security issues: Vulnerability testing identifies the insecure design issues and helps the developer to prioritize them as per severity.
• Password strengthening: The most important security option is the password, testers validate that the password option is secure enough not to be cracked by attackers.

Vulnerability Testing Process

There are five simple steps in the vulnerability testing process:

1. Planning

Plan the testing by knowing the requirements of the system with documentation The planning phase includes everything from starting to the end of the testing, covering areas to test which can be:

• Data-based vulnerability testing: where data is tested to identify loopholes in the security of the data.
• Network-based: Testing the network issue which can harm the security of an application.
• Operating system based: Sometimes, there can be issues with security in the OS over which the application works.

Testers define the scope of testing like the internal and external design of the system and these are of 3 types:

• Black box testing: The tester knows the external design of the system and can cover the external vulnerable areas only.
• Grey box testing: It is a combined form of black box and grey box testing and the tester can review vulnerable areas in the complete system.
• White box testing: The tester knows the internal design of the system.

2. Collect Information

Collect all possible information that is helpful to cover maximum vulnerabilities from network, OS, unauthentic access, hacking ways, and more. The information applies to all scopes of vulnerability testing. The information helps in knowing the ways to break the security of an application. 

3. Identify vulnerable areas

After collecting information, test the application by writing test cases and covering all test scenarios to identify the vulnerable areas.

1.  Vulnerable scanners are used to identify all possible unsecured areas. Testers use both manual and automation testing techniques.
2.  Assign priority (low, medium, high) to the identified vulnerable areas to make it easy for to resolve by developers.
3. Developers deal with security leakage by implementing the design of the system.
4. Identification of all possible areas with resources to make a secure system.

4. Report

After covering all vulnerable areas make a deeply examined report and address it to the development team to secure the system.

5. Remediation

The testing team delivers the report to the development team, where remedies are identified to:

1. Find ways for all vulnerable areas.
2. Apply a security mechanism to cover the security loophole.

Types of Vulnerability Scanners

Vulnerability scanners are automated tools to scan all IT assets on the network to disclose the vulnerability areas. These tools are paid and freely available. There are five types of vulnerability scanners:

Host-based

A host is a web server to connect with other servers on the internet and communicates with them. The host-based scanner identifies vulnerabilities in the workstation, OS platform, and other related areas. It also calculates the damage to the system due to unauthorized access. The host-based vulnerability scanner identifies the vulnerable areas and resolves the detected damage and identifies the damage level.

Network-based

It identifies the possible vulnerable areas over the network as the application interacts with the internet to provide services to users. It tries to identify security attacks on wired or wireless networks by scanning the application on the network. It scans all devices and software working over the network to identify security loopholes.

Database-based

A database is most prone to hackers' attacks as it contains an organization's confidential information. If the database is attacked it affects the brand value, revenue, and trust of customers. Scanning the database of an application to unfold the weak areas of the database that are vulnerable to attack or are insecure and find ways to cover insecure areas.

Application-based

These scanners scan an application to identify vulnerabilities in the application due to updating an application. Cyberattacks are the most common security attacks on an application, they add malicious data into the website's original data that breaks the customer's trust. A vulnerability scanner helps in determining the new and existing vulnerabilities with the amount of damage reported in an application.

Wireless-based

The wireless scanners scan the ports and identify the security issues in the network of an application. After identifying the security weak points, it reports the team and the developer tries to strengthen the security by using encryption or other ways.

Tools for Vulnerability Testing

1. Intruder

It aims to find security weaknesses before any hacker attacks. It is an online vulnerability scanner to identify the security drawbacks of an application. It is a paid scanner and provides a free demo. Its features are:

• Automatically scan an application to find loopholes.
• Alert the application when new ports are accessed and some new changes are made in an application.
• Experts provide continuous penetration testing with high coverage to an application.
• It helps in reducing the time between finding vulnerable areas and fixing them, as it continuously checks an application.
• Secured the whole IT infrastructure from all IT assets to ports.

2. Acunetix

It is a vulnerability scanner for websites, web applications, and APIs. It is a paid scanner and you can use its demo version to know more about it. Features of Acunetix are:

• It is easy to use.
• It is automated and can detect around 7000 vulnerabilities including all vulnerable areas.
• It uses advanced scanning technology to scan all web pages and even password-protected web pages.
• It helps in identifying the true vulnerabilities.
• It prioritizes the vulnerable areas to know their impact on the web page or an application.

3. Frontline

It is the most popular vulnerability scanner with 4.5 ratings and is a network vulnerability scanner. Along with finding vulnerable areas it also defines its remedies. The features of Frontliner are as:

• It is user-friendly.
• It fixes some vulnerabilities just with a single click.
• Along with identifying vulnerable areas, it also makes its priority list for early fixing highly vulnerable issues.
• It identifies the security issues before any cyber attack and helps in securing the application.  

4. Nexus

The highly demanding vulnerability scanner with around 2 million downloads. It is a freely available scanner and developed by Sonatype to identify security loopholes. Some of the features of Nexus are as:

• Easy 3-step scanning process.
• Provide open risks in the applications.
• Way to cover highly vulnerable areas.
• Identify the security risk in the early stages. 

5. Nessus

It is a freely available tool for non-enterprises and a minimum charge for enterprise use, it is sold by Tenable Security. It alerts the testing team on finding some vulnerable areas and provides mitigation measures. Some of the features of Nessus are as:

• It identifies malicious attacks and quickly identifies vulnerable areas.
• High-speed recovery of IT assets.
• Recovery of sensitive data.
• It provides port scanning. 

Conclusion

Vulnerability testing secures systems, networks, and applications by identifying, evaluating, and addressing security weaknesses before they can be exploited. By uncovering flaws, vulnerabilities, and potential risks, organizations can take proactive measures to prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber attacks. The testing process involves multiple stages, including planning, information gathering, identification of vulnerabilities, reporting, and remediation.

With various types of vulnerability scanners and tools available, such as host-based, network-based, database-based, and application-based scanners, organizations can effectively assess and patch vulnerabilities in different areas of their IT infrastructure. Vulnerability testing is an ongoing process, as new vulnerabilities can emerge with system updates, new applications, and evolving cyber threats. By utilizing vulnerability testing tools and continuous monitoring, businesses can reduce security risks, safeguard sensitive data, and enhance their overall security posture.