Concept Web server hacking, first you should understand web server concepts like what an internet server is, how it functions, and therefore the other elements associated with it.
This section gives a quick overview of the online server and its architecture. it’ll &so explain common reasons or mistakes made that allow attackers to hack an internet server successfully. This section also describes the impact of attacks on the online server.
Web Server Operations
A Concept web server may be a computing system that stores, processes, and delivers sites to the global clients via HTTP protocol. generally, a client initiates the communication process through HTTP requests. When a client wants to access any resource like sites, photos, videos, and so on, then the client’s browser generates an HTTP request to the online server, depending on the request, the online server collects the requested information/content from the data storage or from the appliance servers and responds to the client’s request with an appropriate HTTP response. If an internet server cannot find the requested information, then it generates a mistake message.
Components of a Web Server
A web server consists of the following components:
- Document Root
Document root is one of the web server’s root file directories that store critical HTML files related to the web pages of a domain name that will serve in response to the requests.
- Server Root
It is the top-level root directory under the directory tree during which the server’s configuration and error, executable, and log files are stored. It consists of the code that implements the server. The server root, generally, consists of 4 files where one file is dedicated to the code that implements the server and other three are subdirectories, namely, -conf, -logs, and -cgi-bin used for configuration information, store logs, and executables, respectively.
- Virtual Document Tree
Virtual document tree provides storage on a different machine or a disk after the original disk is filled-up. It is case sensitive and can be used to provide object-level security.
- Virtual Hosting
It is a technique of hosting multiple domains or websites on the same server. This allows sharing of resources between various servers. It is employed in large-scale companies where the company resources are intended to be accessed and managed globally.
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Following are the types of virtual hosting:
– Name-based hosting
– IP-based hosting
– Port-based hosting
- Web Proxy
A proxy server sits in between the web client and web server, Due to the placement of web proxies, all the requests from the clients will be passed on to the webserver through the web proxies. They are used to prevent IP blocking and maintain anonymity.
Open-source Web Server Architecture
Concept Open-source web server architecture typically uses Linux, Apache, My SQL, and PHP (LAMP) as principal components.
Following are the functions of principal components in open source web server architecture:
• Linux is that the server’s OS that provides a secure platform for the online server
• Apache is that the webserver component that handles each HTTP request and response
• MySQL may be a relational database wont to store the online server’s content and configuration information
• PHP is that the application layer technology wont to generate a dynamic web page
IIS Web Server Architecture
Internet Information Service (IIS) may be a web server application developed by Microsoft for Windows. IIS for Windows Server may be a flexible, secure, and easy-to-manage web server for hosting anything on the online. It supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SMTP, and NNTP.
It has several components, including a protocol listener like HTTP.sys and services like World Wide Web Publishing Service (WWW Service) and Windows Process Activation Service WAS). Each component functions in application and web server roles. These functions may include listening to requests, managing processes, reading configuration files, and so on.
Web Server Security Issue
A Concept web server may be a hardware/software application that hosts websites and makes them accessible over the web . an internet server, alongside a browser, successfully implements client-server model architecture during which the online server plays the server part within the model and therefore the browser acts because the client. To host websites, an internet server actually stores various sites of the websites and delivers the particular website upon request. Each web server has a domain name and therefore the IP address related to that name . an internet server can host quite one website. Any computer can act as an internet server if it’s specific server software (a web server program) installed in it and is connected to the web.
Concept Web servers are chosen based on their capability to handle server-side programming, security
characteristics, publishing, program, and site-building tools. Apache, Microsoft IIS Nginx,
Google and Tomcat are some of the most widely used concept web servers. An attacker usually targets vulnerability that exists within the software component and configuration errors to compromise web servers.
Organizations can defend most network level and OS-level attacks by using network security measures like firewalls, IDS, IPS, then on and by following security standards and guidelines. This forces attackers to turn their attention to perform web server and web application-level attacks as web server hosting web applications is accessible from anywhere
over the internet. This makes web servers an attractive target. A poorly configured web server can punch a hole within the most carefully designed firewall system. Attackers can exploit a poorly configured web server with known vulnerabilities to compromise the safety of the online application. A leaky server can harm a corporation. the following image shows an organizational security level diminishing from stack 1 to stack 7.
Also Read : Web Server Attacks
Common Goals behind Web Server Hacking
Attackers perform webserver attacks with certain goals in mind. These goals may be either technical or non-technical. for example, attackers may breach security of the online server and steal sensitive information for financial gains or just for the sake of curiosity.
Following are some goals behind an internet server attack:
• Stealing credit cards or other sensitive credentials using phishing techniques
• Integrating the server during a botnet in order to perform Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack
• Compromising a database
• Obtaining closed-source applications
• Hiding and redirecting traffic
• Escalating privileges
Some attacks are riot made to attain financial gains, except for personal reasons:
• For the sake of pure curiosity
• For the sake of achieving a self-set intellectual challenge
• to damage the target organization’s reputation
Dangerous Security Flaws Affecting Web Server Security
Concept Web server configuration by poorly trained system administrators may leave security vulnerabilities in the webserver. Inadequate knowledge, negligence, laziness, and inattentiveness toward security can pose the biggest threats to Internet server security. Following are a number of the common oversights that make an internet server vulnerable to attacks:
• Not updating the online server with the latest patches
• Using an equivalent system admin credentials everywhere
• Allowing unrestricted internal and outbound traffic
• Running unhardened applications and servers
• Complacency
Why Web Servers are Compromised?
There are inherent security risks related to the online servers, the local area networks that host websites, and therefore the end-users who access these websites using browsers.
• Webmaster’s Concern: From a webmaster’s perspective, the most important security concern is that the online server can expose the local area network (LAN) or the company intranet to threats the internet poses. These could also be within the sort of viruses, Trojans, attackers, or the compromise of data itself. Bugs in software programs are often the source of security lapses. Internet servers that are large complex devices also accompany these inherent risks. additionally, the open architecture of the online servers allows arbitrary scripts to run on the server-side white replying to the remote requests. Any CGI script installed at the location may contain bugs that are potential security holes.
• Network Administrator’s Concern: From a network administrator’s perspective, a poorly configured web server poses another potential hole within the local network’s security. While the target of an internet is to supply controlled access to the network, too much control can make the internet almost impossible to use. In an intranet environment, the network administrator has got to take care of configuring the online server in order that the legitimate users are recognized and authenticated and groups of users are assigned distinct access privileges.
• End User’s Concern: Usually, the top user doesn’t perceive any immediate threat, as surfing the online appears both safe and anonymous. However, active content, like ActiveX controls and Java applets, make it possible for harmful applications, like viruses, to invade the user’s system. additionally, active content from a websites browser is often a conduit for malicious software to bypass the firewall system and permeate the LAN.
Following are some of the methods to compromise an internet server:
• Improper fire and directory permissions
• Installing the server with default settings
• Unnecessary services enabled, including content management and remote administration
• Security conflicts with business ease-of-use case
• Lack of proper security policy, procedures, and maintenance
• Improper authentication with external systems
• Default accounts with their default or no passwords
• Unnecessary default, backup, or sample files
• Misconfigurations in web server, OS, and networks
• Bugs in server software, OS, and web applications
• Misconfigured SSL certificates and encryption settings
• Administrative or debugging functions that are enabled or accessible on web servers
• Use of self-signed certificates and default certificates
Impact of Web Server Attacks
Attackers can cause various sorts of damages to a corporation by attacking an internet server. Following are a number of the damages attackers can cause to an internet server:
• Compromise of user account: Web server attacks are mostly targeting compromising user account. If the attacker compromises a user account, then the attacker can gain tons of useful information. Then, the attacker can use the compromised user account to launch further attacks on the online server.
• Website defacement: Attackers completely change the looks of the web site by replacing the first data. they modify the website’s look by changing the visuals and displaying different pages with messages of their own.
• Secondary attacks from the website: An attacker who compromises an internet server can use the server to launch further attacks on various websites or client systems.
• Root access to other applications or server: Root access is that the highest privilege one gets to log in to a network, be it a dedicated server, semi-dedicated, or virtual private server. Attackers can perform any action once they get root access to the server.
• Data tampering: An attacker can after or delete the data and can even replace the info
with malware so as to compromise whoever connects to the webserver.
• Data theft: Data is one of the primary assets of an organization. Attackers can get access to sensitive data like financial records, future plans, or the source code of a program.
There are so many web server attack found in daily basis every attack has a different motive of hacker. To steal the data present on the network or server how hacker do data tampering or root access on a server or many more. In which how we can secure our web site from all these types of attacks. Learn from Infosavvy CEHv10 Training and Certification from EC-Council.
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