A security administrator examines a network session to a compromised database server with a packet
analyzer. Within the session there is a repeated series of the hex character 90 (x90).
Which of the following attack types has occurred?
A.
Buffer overflow
B.
Cross-site scripting
C.
XML injection
D.
SQL injection
Explanation:
The hex character 90 (x90) means NOP or No Op or No Operation. In a buffer overflow attack, the buffer
can be filled and overflowed with No Op commands.
A buffer overflow occurs when a program or process tries to store more data in a buffer (temporary data
storage area) than it was intended to hold. Since buffers are created to contain a finite amount of data,
the extra information – which has to go somewhere – can overflow into adjacent buffers, corrupting or
overwriting the valid data held in them. Although it may occur accidentally through programming error,
buffer overflow is an increasingly common type of security attack on data integrity. In buffer overflow
attacks, the extra data may contain codes designed to trigger specific actions, in effect sending new
instructions to the attacked computer that could, for example, damage the user’s files, change data, or
disclose confidential information. Buffer overflow attacks are said to have arisen because the C
programming language supplied the framework, and poor programming practices supplied the
vulnerability.
Incorrect Answers:
B: Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of computer security vulnerability typically found in Web
applications. XSS enables attackers to inject client-side script into Web pages viewed by other users.
Cross-site scripting uses known vulnerabilities in web-based applications, their servers, or plug-in systems
on which they rely. Exploiting one of these, attackers fold malicious content into the content being
delivered from the compromised site. When the resulting combined content arrives at the client-side webbrowser, it has all been delivered from the trusted source, and thus operates under the permissions
granted to that system. By finding ways of injecting malicious scripts into web pages, an attacker can gain
elevated access-privileges to sensitive page content, session cookies, and a variety of other information
maintained by the browser on behalf of the user. A repeated series of the hex character 90 is not an
example of an XSS attack.
C: When a web user takes advantage of a weakness with SQL by entering values that they should not, it is
known as a SQL injection attack. Similarly, when the user enters values that query XML (known as XPath)
with values that take advantage of exploits, it is known as an XML injection attack. XPath works in a
similar manner to SQL, except that it does not have the same levels of access control, and taking
advantage of weaknesses within can return entire documents. The best way to prevent XML injection
attacks is to filter the user’s input and sanitize it to make certain that it does not cause XPath to return
more data than it should. A repeated series of the hex character 90 is not an example of XML injection.
D: SQL injection is a code injection technique, used to attack data-driven applications, in which malicious
SQL statements are inserted into an entry field for execution (e.g. to dump the database contents to the
attacker). SQL injection must exploit a security vulnerability in an application’s software, for example,
when user input is either incorrectly filtered for string literal escape characters embedded in SQL
statements or user input is not strongly typed and unexpectedly executed. SQL injection is mostly known
as an attack vector for websites but can be used to attack any type of SQL database. A repeated series of
the hex character 90 is not an example of SQL injection.http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/buffer-overflow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL_injection
Dulaney, Emmett and Chuck Eastton, CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, 6th Edition, Sybex, Indianapolis,
2014, p. 337