Web Application Security (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

0-5

Objective

This course enables the student to think about web application security in a holistic fashion. The student will learn an effective toolset and methodology for finding, exploiting, and fixing common web application vulnerabilities.

Content

This is a course about applied cyber security. We will consider common web application vulnerabilities through a series of hands-on exercises using real-world examples (mostly).

We will address various topics related to web and web applications, such as the browser security model, input validation, servlet containers, databases and injections.

We will address current trends in cyber security landscape, and their effect on the web.

Materials

Stuttard, D., Pinto, M., and Pauli, J. J. (2012). The web application hacker’s handbook : finding and exploiting security flaws . John Wiley & Sons, Indianapolis, Ind.

Completion alternatives

The course grade is calculated based on weekly exercises and the final exam. The grades will not be curved.

Student workload

Lectures+ independent study

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Excellent 5: The student is able to independently find, exploit, and mitigate common web application vulnerabilities. The student is able to create and modify exploits to achieve the desired goals and write a succinct report that covers all the salient findings and mitigation recommendations for all vulnerability types addressed by this course. The student is able to update their knowledge independently by following various news and research outlets.

Very good 4: The student is able to find and mitigate common web application vulnerabilities. The student is able to modify and create simple exploits to achieve the desired goals and write a report that covers findings and mitigation recommendations for most vulnerability types addressed by this course. The student is able to update their knowledge independently by following various news and research outlets.

Good 3: The student is able to find and mitigate common web application vulnerabilities. The student is able to understand the working principles of existing exploit techniques and write a report that covers most findings and mitigation recommendations for most vulnerability types addressed by this course. The student is able to update their knowledge independently by following various news and research outlets.

Satisfactory 2: The student is able to find common web application vulnerabilities. The student is able to understand the working principles of existing exploit techniques and write a report that covers most findings and mitigation recommendations for most vulnerability types addressed by this course. The student is able to update their knowledge independently by following various news and research outlets.


Sufficient 1: The student is able to find simple web application vulnerabilities. The student is able to understand the basics of existing exploit techniques and write a report that covers findings and mitigation recommendations for some vulnerability types addressed by this course. The student is able to find information about major news and events.

0: The student does not meet the criteria set for grade 1.

The learning outcomes of individual courses are assessed in relation to the objectives of the course concerned. Unless otherwise defined in the curriculum, a course accepted as completed is assessed either on the following five-step scale: 5 (Excellent), 4 (Very Good), 3 (Good), 2 (Satisfactory), 1 (Sufficient) or it is graded as Pass/Fail, marked as “S (Pass)” and “0 (Fail)”.
If the student does not meet the minimum criteria set for the course, the grade is 0 (Fail).

Qualifications

The course requires a solid understanding of programming and previous experience in web technologies. The student must be comfortable using command line tools.