8 Critical Website Vulnerabilities Hackers Commonly Exploit

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities are a critical concern that cannot be overlooked. Hackers can exploit these weaknesses to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, which may be misused in various harmful ways. Therefore, adopting effective strategies to enhance your website’s security is essential.

A website vulnerability is any flaw or weakness that hackers can exploit. Although websites typically employ multiple security measures to protect against cyber threats, hackers often manage to find breaches to infiltrate the system. Once they succeed, they can gain access to the admin panel, enabling them to manipulate your website, damage your reputation, and misuse sensitive information about your business, clients, and customers.
In the worst-case scenario, hackers may delete your website files and database, causing irreparable harm. Therefore, it is imperative to identify and address potential security threats during the development and deployment stages of your website.

At WP peoples,  our website builder highlights 10 common vulnerabilities that hackers exploit, helping you implement the necessary preventive measures to safeguard your website.

What You Need to Know About Website Security Vulnerabilities

A web security vulnerability refers to any weakness, flaw, or inadequacy in a system that hackers can exploit. Unlike network vulnerabilities, web vulnerabilities are more susceptible to attacks due to websites’ inherently accessible nature. This makes them a frequent target for hackers aiming to steal sensitive information or disrupt operations.

To safeguard your website, you must know the most common vulnerabilities and regularly test them for potential weaknesses and errors. Proactive measures like these are critical for maintaining robust web security and protecting user data, ensuring your website remains safe and trustworthy for your audience.

The Most Common Website Vulnerabilities Exploited by Hackers

A website can have various vulnerabilities that can lead to hacking. Below is an overview of the top 10 website vulnerabilities you should be aware of:

1. SQL Injection Vulnerability

SQL Injection is a code injection attack in which a hacker inserts malicious code into a computer program. When the compromised program is executed, it grants the attacker unauthorized access to the application’s database. Since a website’s database typically contains sensitive information about customers, clients, or users, attackers often target it to steal confidential data.

In an SQL injection attack, the hacker identifies an input field used to construct an SQL query. They then inject malicious payloads into this input, which the server executes. This allows the attacker to manipulate the database by creating, reading, updating, altering, or deleting records. Websites not properly validating or verifying user inputs are especially vulnerable to SQL injection attacks. To protect your website from such attacks, consistently implement robust input validation and verification processes to ensure safe user inputs.

Also Read: Hardening WordPress Security: A Tutorial for Beginners

2. Broken Authentication and Session Management Vulnerabilities

When user authentication and session handling functionality are implemented incorrectly, broken authentication and session management vulnerabilities arise. Exploiting these flaws, attackers can steal session IDs or passwords to impersonate legitimate users. The attacker could be an external hacker or an authorized user who gains unauthorized access.
Internal and external attackers can use stolen credentials to pose as legitimate users and access restricted resources. These vulnerabilities often result from poorly designed custom authentication and session management systems. To prevent such issues, developers must design and implement these systems carefully.
Preventive measures include using complex passwords, limiting login attempts, enforcing strong password policies, encrypting stored passwords, and safeguarding session IDs. Adopting these practices can significantly reduce the risk of broken authentication and session management vulnerabilities.

3. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerabilities

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a code injection attack similar to SQL injection. In an XSS attack, malicious code is injected into a website and executed within a user’s browser. Websites that process user input without proper validation or encoding are particularly vulnerable to XSS attacks.
During this attack, the browser is indirectly targeted. When a victim visits a compromised page, malicious JavaScript code is delivered to their browser. Once executed, the attacker can access browser-stored objects such as cookies. Since session tokens are often stored in cookies, the attacker can steal a user’s credentials, access sensitive data, or even remotely control the browser.
To prevent XSS attacks, websites should:

  • Encode outputs derived from user input.
  • Filter and sanitize input parameters to remove special characters.
  • Apply validation and encoding to all user-provided data.

These precautions ensure that malicious scripts cannot execute within a user’s browser, keeping your website and its users safe. 

4. Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) Vulnerability

When a website exposes internal objects to unauthorized users, it becomes vulnerable to insecure direct object references (IDOR). These objects could include files, directories, database records, or keys. Developers must be cautious, as they are often responsible for inadvertently exposing these objects.

An attacker exploiting this vulnerability is typically an authorized user with limited privileges. The attacker can gain unauthorized access by directly modifying parameters that reference internal objects. Many web applications fail to verify whether the user has the proper authorization to access the object, making it easier for attackers to exploit this flaw.

Enforcing strict access controls and ensuring that users can only access objects they are authorized to view are crucial to mitigating this vulnerability. Thorough testing and code analysis can help identify and resolve these vulnerabilities during development. 

5. Incorrect Security Configuration Vulnerability

Insecure configurations within a web application can pose significant security risks. For instance, using default usernames, passwords, or system settings can grant attackers unauthorized access, including administrative privileges. Misconfigured services, scripts, configuration files, or sample files can also create vulnerabilities across the web server, platform, database, application server, and other application stack components.
Both developers and administrators must collaborate to ensure the web application is securely configured. Automated security scanners can help detect issues related to insecure configurations.

Developers should implement encryption algorithms to protect sensitive data when developing a website. Additionally, administrators should conceal error messages and system traces from end users and avoid using default usernames, passwords, and other default settings. These practices will help reduce the risk of security breaches due to misconfigurations.

6. Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Vulnerability

Cross-site request Forgery (CSRF) is an attack in which the attacker tricks an authorized user into performing unwanted actions, such as changing their password or transferring funds, without the user’s knowledge. In this attack, the victim unknowingly sends a malicious request to a trusted website while logged in.
Here’s how a CSRF attack works:

  • An authorized user logs into a website (e.g., MyBank.com) offering online banking services.
  • The attacker then manipulates the user into visiting a malicious website.
  • The malicious website sends a request to MyBank.com using the victim’s browser. Since the user is already logged into MyBank.com, the attacker can impersonate the victim and perform any action, such as transferring funds.
  • The best approach to protecting against CSRF is to include a token in the user’s session. When the session is created, the system generates a unique token and appends it to every request made during that session.

The server then checks the token to verify that the request is legitimate. The token should be a long, random value to make it difficult to guess.
For additional protection, users should:

  • Avoid visiting untrusted websites while logged into sensitive sites like online banking.
  • Always log out after completing their tasks.
  • Never save login credentials in the browser.

These precautions help safeguard users from CSRF attacks.

7. Remote Code Execution (RCE) Vulnerability

Remote code execution (RCE) occurs when an attacker exploits a server vulnerability to execute system-level code on the server. By doing so, the attacker can retrieve or modify information stored on the server. These vulnerabilities typically arise from coding errors or misconfigurations. To prevent remote code execution attacks, it is essential to fix all identified security flaws and ensure the server is correctly secured against such vulnerabilities.

8. Username Enumeration Vulnerability

Username enumeration is a vulnerability where an application reveals whether a username is valid based on the error message displayed. This allows attackers to determine valid usernames through trial and error. Additionally, developers often create test accounts with trivial usernames and passwords, such as “Admin/admin” or “test/test,” but forget to delete them after testing. Attackers can exploit these accounts if they are not properly removed.

Beyond the login page, attackers can also target registration, password change, and password recovery pages. To prevent username enumeration, developers should ensure that error messages do not reveal whether a username exists. For example, instead of displaying “Username does not exist” or “Wrong password,” the application should show a generic message like “Incorrect username or password.” Similarly, error messages on registration, password recovery, and password change pages should not indicate whether the username or email address is valid. This helps prevent attackers from identifying valid credentials.

9. Drive-By Download Vulnerability

Drive-by download vulnerabilities occur when a user visits a website and malicious software is automatically downloaded onto their device without their consent or knowledge. This often happens when users interact with untrusted content, such as downloading files, opening suspicious emails, clicking on pop-up windows, or, in some cases, merely visiting a compromised webpage.

Drive-by attacks usually exploit security vulnerabilities in applications, browsers, or operating systems. To reduce the risk of such attacks, ensure that all software, browsers, and operating systems are updated with the latest security patches. Additionally, limit the use of unnecessary plugins and applications, as they can increase the risk of exposure to these vulnerabilities.

10. Password-Based Attack Vulnerabilities

Password-based attacks are among the most common and take various forms, such as:

  • Credential Hacks: Accessing sensitive information by infiltrating the device’s memory (RAM).
  • Brute Force Attacks: Systematically attempting multiple password combinations until the correct one is discovered.
  • Credential Stuffing: Attempting to log in to various accounts using known usernames and passwords.
  • Pass-the-Hash: Stealing hashed credentials to create new authenticated sessions.

To protect against password-based attacks, implement the following measures:

  • Implement strong password policies that mandate the use of complex and unique passwords.
  • Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for additional security layers.
  • Utilize code signing to verify the integrity of software and updates.

Adopting these precautions can significantly reduce the likelihood of successful password-based attacks.

Conclusion: Understanding Web Vulnerabilities

Cybercriminals constantly search for web vulnerabilities to exploit, aiming to steal sensitive information for malicious purposes. Therefore, it is essential to regularly test your website for security flaws and vulnerabilities while practicing robust web security measures to ensure smooth and secure operations.

Hackers with malicious intent always look for weaknesses in a website’s defenses. Therefore, experts must identify and address potential vulnerabilities during development and deployment. Regular updates, strengthened access controls, enhanced network security, firewalls, security applications, and SSL implementation are among the many strategies for safeguarding a website.

Additionally, maintaining regular backups is vital. If attackers compromise your website, having backups helps prevent data loss and facilitates recovery, minimizing damage and downtime.

About Param Chahal

Param Chahal, the visionary behind TemplateToaster, has over a decade of experience in the industry. He aims to share his knowledge with the world by contributing insightful content to this blog, which is supported by a team of dedicated editors and writers.

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