OWASP AppSensor Project

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OWASP AppSensor
The AppSensor project defines a conceptual framework and methodology that offers prescriptive guidance to implement intrusion detection and automated response into an existing application. Current efforts are underway to create the AppSensor tool which can be utilized by any existing application interested in adding detection and response capabilities.

Introduction
If you walk into a bank and try opening random doors, you will be identified, led out of the building and possibly arrested. However, if you log into an online banking application and start looking for vulnerabilities no one will say anything. This needs to change! As critical applications continue to become more accessible and inter-connected, it is paramount that critical information is sufficiently protected. We must also realize that our defenses may not be perfect. Given enough time, attackers can identify security flaws in the design or implementation of an application.

In addition to implementing layers of defense within an application, we must identify malicious individuals before they are able to identify any gaps in our defenses. The best place to identify malicious activity against the application is within the application itself. Network based intrusion detection systems are not appropriate to handle the custom and intricate workings of an enterprise application and are ill-suited to detect attacks focusing on application logic such as authentication, access control, etc. This project delivers a framework which can be used to build a robust system of attack detection, analysis, and response within an enterprise application.

Detection
AppSensor defines over 50 different detection points which can be used to identify a malicious attacker.

Response
AppSensor provides guidance on how to respond once a malicious attacker has been identified. Possible actions include: logging out the user, locking the account or notifying an administrator. More than a dozen response actions are described.

Defending the Application
An attacker often requires numerous probes and attack attempts in order to locate an exploitable vulnerability within the application. By using AppSensor it is possible to identify and eliminate the threat of an attacker before they are able to successfully identify an exploitable flaw.

Licensing
OWASP AppSensor is free to use. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license, so you can copy, distribute and transmit the work, and you can adapt it, and use it commercially, but all provided that you attribute the work and if you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.


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What is AppSensor?
Detect and Respond to Attacks from Within the Application.

Overview


Download the PDF from CrossTalk Magazine.

Project Founder

 * Michael Coates

Project Leaders

 * Dennis Groves
 * John Melton
 * Colin Watson

Related Projects

 * OWASP Enterprise Security API
 * OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set


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Quick Download

 * OWASP AppSensor Guide v1.1 EN
 * PDF
 * DOC
 * OWASP AppSensor Demonstration Implementations
 * Developer Guide
 * Code

News and Events

 * [21 Nov 2013] AppSensor Project presentation
 * [20 Nov 2013] Writing and document review
 * [18 Nov 2013] AppSensor 2.0 Hackathon
 * [28 Oct 2013] HOST investment award notification

In Print


We apologise the v1.1 book can no longer be purchased as a print on demand book from Lulu.com, due to support for the format/binding being withdrawn. Please download the PDF instead. The v2.0 document is in progress and will be available on Lulu in Spring 2014.

Classifications

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= Acknowledgements =

Volunteers
All OWASP projects rely on the voluntary efforts of people in the software development and information security sectors. They have contributed their time and energy to make suggestions, provide feedback, write, review and edit documentation, give encouragement, make introductions, produce demonstration code, promote the concept, and provide OWASP support. They participated via the project’s mailing lists, by developing code, by updating the wiki, by undertaking research studies, and through contributions during the AppSensor working session at the OWASP Summit 2011 in Portugal and the AppSensor Summit at AppSec USA 2011. Without all their efforts, the project would not have progressed to this point, and this guide would not have been completed.

Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) Program
AppSensor was awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate's Security Research and Development Center under its HOST program to contribute to the production of this second version of the guide.

Other Acknowledgements
The AppSensor Project was initially supported by the OWASP Summer of Code 2008, leading to the publication of the book AppSensor v1.1 ; the project has also benefitted greatly from the generous contribution of time and effort by many volunteers in the OWASP community including those listed above, and contributors to the OWASP ESAPI project, members of the former OWASP Global Projects Committee, the OWASP Board, OWASP staff and support from the OWASP Project Reboot initiative. Additional development work was kindly supported by the Google Summer of Code 2012. The v2 code and documentation were conceived during the AppSensor Summit held during AppSec USA 2011 in Minneapolis.

= Road Map and Getting Involved =

Please join the project's mailing lists to keep up-to-date with what's going on, and to contribute your ideas, feedback, and experience:
 * General project
 * Code development

Future activities
November, 2013 - AppSensor 2.0 hackathon, and document writing & review at AppSecUSA 2013, New York

2012-2013 - Active Development of next AppSensor book!

2014 Spring Version 2 book to be published

Past activities
'September, 2011 - AppSensor Summit at AppSec USA 2011, Minneapolis

September, 2010 - Presented at AppSecUSA slides

June, 2010 - Active ESAPI Integration Underway

November, 2009 OWASP DC, November 2009

Current: v1.2 in the works, demo application in development

May, 2009 - AppSec EU Poland - Presentation (PPT) (Video)

January, 2009 - v1.1 Released - Beta Status

November, 2008 - AppSensor Talk at OWASP Portugal

November, 2008 - v1.0 Released - Beta Status

April 16, 2008 - Project Begins

= Detection Points =

Below are the primary detection points defined within AppSensor. These are just the titles; the document contains descriptions, examples and considerations for implementing these detection points.

Detailed Detection Point Information Here 

Response Action Information Here

Summary of Information Detection Categories:

RE - Request

AE - Authentication

SE - Session

ACE - Access Control

IE - Input

EE - Encoding

CIE - Command Injection

FIO - File IO

HT - Honey Trap

UT - User Trend

STE - System Trend

RP - Reputation

Signature Based Event Titles

ID Event

RE1 Unexpected HTTP Command

RE2 Attempt to Invoke Unsupported HTTP Method

RE3 GET When Expecting POST

RE4 POST When Expecting GET

RE5 Additional/Duplicated Data in Request

RE6 Data Missing from Request

RE7 Unexpected Quantity of Characters in Parameter

RE8 Unexpected Type of Characters in Parameter

AE1 Use Of Multiple Usernames

AE2 Multiple Failed Passwords

AE3 High Rate of Login Attempts

AE4 Unexpected Quantity of Characters in Username

AE5 Unexpected Quantity of Characters in Password

AE6 Unexpected Type of Character in Username

AE7 Unexpected Type of Character in Password

AE8 Providing Only the Username

AE9 Providing Only the Password

AE10 Adding POST Variable

AE11 Missing POST Variable

AE12 Utilization of Common Usernames

SE1 Modifying Existing Cookie

SE2 Adding New Cookie

SE3 Deleting Existing Cookie

SE4 Substituting Another User's Valid Session ID or Cookie

SE5 Source IP Address Changes During Session

SE6 Change Of User Agent Mid Session

ACE1 Modifying URL Argument Within a GET for Direct Object Access Attempt

ACE2 Modifying Parameter Within a POST for Direct Object Access Attempt

ACE3 Force Browsing Attempt

ACE4 Evading Presentation Access Control Through Custom POST

IE1 Cross Site Scripting Attempt

IE2 Violation of Implemented White Lists

IE3 Violation Of Implemented Black Lists

IE4 Violation of Input Data Integrity

IE5 Violation of Stored Business Data Integrity

IE6 Violation of Security Log Integrity

EE1 Double Encoded Character

EE2 Unexpected Encoding Used

CIE1 Blacklist Inspection for Common SQL Injection Values

CIE2 Detect Abnormal Quantity of Returned Records

CIE3 Null Byte Character in File Request

CIE4 Carriage Return or Line Feed Character In File Request

FIO1 Detect Large Individual File

FIO2 Detect Large Number of File Uploads

HT1 Alteration to Honey Trap Data

HT2 Honey Trap Resource Requested

HT3 Honey Trap Data Used

Behavior Based Event Titles

UT1 Irregular Use of Application

UT2 Speed of Application Use

UT3 Frequency of Site Use

UT4 Frequency of Feature Use

STE1 High Number of Logouts Across The Site

STE2 High Number of Logins Across The Site

STE3 Significant Change in Usage of Same Transaction Across The Site

RP1 Suspicious or Disallowed User IP Address

RP2 Suspicious External User Behavior

RP3 Suspicious Client-Side Behavior

RP4 Change to Environment Threat Level

= Media =

AppSensor Guide

 * OWASP AppSensor Guide v1.1 EN
 * PDF
 * DOC
 * OWASP AppSensor Guide v2.0 EN
 * In progress (draft versions)

Development
Developer Guide Google Code

Presentations
AppSensorTutorial

Automated Application Defenses to Thwart Advanced Attackers (Slides & Audio)

July, 2010 - OWASP London (UK) -

June, 2010 - OWASP Leeds/North (UK) - OWASP AppSensor - The Self-Aware Web Application

June, 2010 - Video presentation - Automated Application Defenses to Thwart Advanced Attackers

November, 2009 - AppSec DC - Defend Yourself: Integrating Real Time Defenses into Online Applications

May, 2009 - OWASP Podcast #51

May, 2009 - AppSec EU Poland - Real Time Defenses against Application Worms and Malicious Attackers

November, 2008 - OWASP Summit Portugal 2008 PPT

Video Demos of AppSensor
Detecting Multiple Attacks & Logging Out Attacker

Detecting XSS Probes

Detecting URL Tampering

Detecting Verb Tampering

= Project About =

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