Compromising authentication permits an attacker to pose as an authorized person. This can be useful when Penetration Testing web applications, because having authorized access means bypassing most traditional security defenses.

Chapter 5, Attacking Authentication, focused on attacking how users and systems authenticate. We started off by providing an overview of the different methods used to confirm identity. The next section covered attacking the process of managing authentication sessions. Next, we evaluated how session data is stored in a user's browser by compromising cookie management. We then covered how to capture authentication sessions by hiding between targets using various forms of man-in-the-middle attacks. The final two sections evaluated authentication vulnerabilities web application servers, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.

The next chapter will cover remote or web-based attacks on servers and clients.