Secure-Software-Design Leak Questions

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

The scenario describes a stage where the developed features are deployed to a pre-production environment for verification by analysts. This aligns with the Testing phase of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

In the Testing phase, the system undergoes various evaluations to ensure it meets the specified requirements and functions correctly. This includes deploying the software in an environment that simulates production to identify and rectify defects before the actual deployment. The primary goal is to validate the software's quality and performance.

According to the SDLC framework, after the development (coding) phase, the next step is Testing, where the system is rigorously evaluated. This phase is crucial to detect issues that may not have been apparent during development and to ensure that the software operates as intended in a controlled setting before live deployment.

References:

Software Development Life Cycle Documentation

ASF Authentication Threats: The Web Application Security Frame (ASF) authentication category encompasses threats related to how users and systems prove their identity to the application. This includes issues like weak passwords, compromised credentials, and inadequate access controls.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): RBAC is a well-established security principle that aligns closely with addressing authentication threats. It involves assigning users to roles and granting those roles specific permissions based on the principle of least privilege. This limits the attack surface and reduces the impact of a compromised user account.

Let's analyze the other options:

B. Credentials and tokens are encrypted: While vital for security, encryption primarily protects data at rest or in transit. It doesn't directly address authentication risks like brute-force attacks or weak password management.

C. Cookies have expiration timestamps: Expiring cookies are a good practice, but their primary benefit is session management rather than directly mitigating authentication-specific threats.

D. Sensitive information is scrubbed from error messages: While essential for preventing information leakage, this practice doesn't address the core threats within the ASF authentication category.

References:

NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 4, Access Control (AC) Family: ( ) Details the importance of RBAC as a cornerstone of access control.

The Web Application Security Frame (ASF): ( ) Outlines the ASF categories, with authentication being one of the primary areas.

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) uses the following ranges to determine the severity rating of a vulnerability:

0.1 - 3.9: Low severity

4.0 - 6.9: Medium severity

7.0 - 8.9: High severity

9.0 - 10.0: Critical severity

Since the adjusted score for the vulnerability is 5.9, it falls within the High severity range.

References:

CVSS v3.1 Specification Document - FIRST: 

National Vulnerability Database (NVD) - NIST: 

The secure coding best practice that emphasizes treating all incoming data as untrusted and subjecting it to validation is known as input validation. This practice is crucial for ensuring that a system only processes valid, clean data, thereby preventing many types of vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows, which can arise from maliciously crafted inputs.

Input validation involves verifying that the data meets certain criteria before it is processed by the system. This includes checking for the correct data type, length, format, and range. It also involves sanitizing the data to ensure that it does not contain any potentially harmful elements that could lead to security breaches.

A centralized input validation routine is recommended for the entire application, which helps in maintaining consistency and effectiveness in the validation process. This routine should be implemented on a trusted system, typically server-side, to prevent tampering or bypassing of the validation logic.

It’s important to classify all data sources into trusted and untrusted categories and to apply rigorous validation to all data from untrusted sources, such as user input, databases, file streams, and network interfaces.

By adhering to the input validation best practice, developers can significantly reduce the attack surface of their applications and protect against a wide array of common security threats.

References: The verified answer is supported by the Secure Coding Practices outlined by the OWASP Foundation1 and other reputable sources such as Coding Dojo2 and CERT Secure Coding3.