We covered and explained XPATH Injection Vulnerability by using OWASP WebGoat free lab..
What is XPath Injection?
XPath is a language used to navigate and query elements within an XML document. An XPath injection is a type of attack where a malicious query is interpreted by an XML file to retrieve information. The goal of such an injection is to make the XML file behave in an unintended way, often by revealing sensitive data. For example, if an XML file is used to handle user credentials, an attacker could craft an injection to force it to return all stored credentials, rather than just the one requested.
Demonstration: Disclosing Employee Data
The video demonstrated an exercise where the objective was to disclose all employee data stored within an XML file. I learned how to construct a specific malicious query, such as mark or 1=1 or ''=''. This query is designed to bypass normal validation logic.
When this specially crafted, malicious query was sent to the server, it caused the XML file to return all employee data, including usernames, account numbers, and even salaries. The video clearly showed the server responding with the data for all employees (Mike, John, and Sarah) after the malicious query was executed.
Prevention is Key!
To prevent XPath injection vulnerabilities, it’s absolutely crucial to validate and sanitize all user-supplied input before it’s executed or queried against your XML file or database. This ensures that only legitimate and safe data is processed, preventing attackers from manipulating your application’s logic.
