AppSec Practitioner CAP Passing Score

The HTTP request is a POST to /changepassword with a session cookie (JSESSIONID) and parameters new_password and confirm_password. Let’s evaluate each option:

Option A ("The change password feature does not validate the user"): The request includes a JSESSIONID cookie, which typically indicates that the user is authenticated via a session. There’s no evidence that user validation is absent, so this is not correct.

Option B ("The change password feature uses basic authorization"): Basic authorization would involve an Authorization: Basic header with a Base64-encoded username and password, which is not present here. The authentication appears to be session-based (via cookie), not basic auth, so this is incorrect.

Option C ("The change password feature is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery attack"): Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) occurs when a malicious site tricks a user’s browser into making an unintended request to another site where the user is authenticated. This request lacks a CSRF token (e.g., a unique, unpredictable token in the request body or header) to verify the request’s legitimacy. The Sec-Fetch-Site: same-origin header indicates the request is currently from the same origin, but this is a browser feature, not a server-side CSRF protection. Without a CSRF token, the endpoint is vulnerable to CSRF, as an attacker could craft a malicious form on another site to submit this request on behalf of the user. This is the correct answer.

Option D ("All of the above"): Since A and B are incorrect, D cannot be correct.

The correct answer is C, aligning with the CAP syllabus under "Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)" and "OWASP Top 10 (A08:2021 - Software and Data Integrity Failures)."References: SecOps Group CAP Documents - "CSRF Prevention," "Session Management," and "OWASP Secure Coding Practices" sections.

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is an XML-based standard for authentication and authorization, commonly used for single sign-on (SSO). Its reliance on XML and the complexity of its trust model make it vulnerable to several attacks:

Option A ("XML Signature Wrapping Attack"): This is a common SAML attack where an attacker manipulates the XML structure to wrap a malicious element while preserving the signature, tricking the relying party into accepting a forged assertion. This attack exploits the way SAML parsers handle signed XML messages.

Option B ("XML External Entity Injection"): SAML messages are XML-based, making them susceptible to XXE (XML External Entity) attacks if the XML parser is misconfigured. An attacker can include external entities to access local files or make network requests, compromising the system.

Option C ("Assertion Replay Attack"): In this attack, an attacker intercepts a valid SAML assertion and reuses it to impersonate the user. If the assertion lacks proper replay protection (e.g., timestamps, nonces), the relying party may accept the replayed assertion as valid.

Option D ("All of the above"): Correct, as all three attacks (XML Signature Wrapping, XXE Injection, and Assertion Replay) are well-documented vulnerabilities in SAML implementations.

The correct answer is D, aligning with the CAP syllabus under "SAML Security" and "XML-Based Attacks."References: SecOps Group CAP Documents - "SAML Security Risks," "XML Vulnerabilities," and "OWASP SAML Security Cheat Sheet" sections.

GraphQL Introspection is a built-in feature of GraphQL that allows clients to query the schema of a GraphQL API at runtime. This process involves sending introspection queries (e.g., __schema or __type) to retrieve information about the API’s structure, including available types, fields, queries, mutations, and their relationships. This capability is powerful for developers to explore and document APIs but poses a security risk if left enabled in production, as attackers can use it to map out the entire API structure and identify potential attack vectors.

Option A ("A technique for testing the compatibility of the GraphQL API with other systems"): Incorrect, as introspection is about schema discovery, not compatibility testing.

Option B ("A technique for testing the performance of the GraphQL API"): Incorrect, as performance testing involves load or stress testing, not schema exploration.

Option C ("A technique for discovering the structure of the GraphQL API"): Correct, as introspection is specifically designed to expose the API’s schema and structure.

Option D ("A technique for testing the security of the GraphQL API"): Incorrect, as security testing is a separate process; introspection itself is a feature, not a security test.

The correct answer is C, aligning with the CAP syllabus under "GraphQL Security" and "API Introspection."References: SecOps Group CAP Documents - "GraphQL Fundamentals," "Introspection Risks," and "OWASP API Security Top 10" sections.

Null Byte Injection is a vulnerability where a null byte character (\0 or ASCII 0) is injected into user-supplied input to manipulate application behavior, often bypassing filters or terminating strings prematurely in languages like C or C++ that rely on null-terminated strings. In web applications, this is typically encoded in URLs using percent-encoding (e.g., %xx, where xx is the hexadecimal value). The ASCII value of a null byte is 0, which is represented as %00 in URL encoding.

Option A ("%01"): Represents the ASCII character with value 1 (Start of Heading), not a null byte.

Option B ("%10"): Represents the ASCII character with value 16 (Data Link Escape), not a null byte.

Option C ("%25"): Represents the % character itself (ASCII 37), not a null byte.

Option D ("%00"): Represents the null byte (ASCII 0), which is the correct URL-encoded form used in Null Byte Injection attacks.

The correct answer is D, aligning with the CAP syllabus under "Injection Attacks" and "Input Validation Bypasses."References: SecOps Group CAP Documents - "Null Byte Injection," "URL Encoding," and "OWASP Injection Prevention" sections.