Dynamically scanning a web application through use of web traffic information

• US 9,213,832 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2012
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Amit, Yair, Bachar, Ronen, Guy, Lotem, Kreichman, Igal, Nordan, Ron, Saltzman, Roi, Segal, Ori
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrishamkar, Kaveh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox, James J
• Application Number:
  US13/357,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Collecting log file data from at least one log file. From the collected log file data, at least one HTTP request can be generated to exercise a web application to perform a security analysis of the web application. The HTTP request can be communicated to the web application. At least one HTTP response to the HTTP request can be received. The HTTP response can be analyzed to perform validation of the web application. Results of the validation can be output.

Claims

1. A system that dynamically scans a web application to perform a security analysis of the web application comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium; and

a processor configured to initiate executable operations comprising;

collecting log file data from at least one log file, collecting the log file data comprising matching information from a previous HTTP request, which lead to a subsequent HTTP request being generated, using stateful parsing to identify information about at least one HTML parameter type by marking a certain parameter of the previous HTTP request as a parameter originating from a form or a hyperlink;

entering data from the collected log file data into at least one data file;

scanning the at least one data file to identify information relevant to security testing;

from the identified information relevant to the security testing, generating at least a first HTTP request to exercise a web application to perform the security analysis of the web application, the first HTTP request corresponding to a second HTTP request generated by prior use or development of the web application and contained in the log file, the first HTTP request including form data that is different than form data contained in the second HTTP request and configured to specifically test for security vulnerabilities in the web application;

communicating the HTTP request to the web application;

receiving at least one HTTP response to the first HTTP request;

analyzing the HTTP response to perform validation of the web application; and

outputting results of the validation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further in configured to initiate executable operations comprising:

filtering the collected log file data to remove redundant information from the collected log file data.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further in configured to initiate executable operations comprising:

transforming at least a portion of the collected log file data into at least one data structure recognizable by the web application; and

including the data structure in the first HTTP request.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one log file comprises a log file maintained by an application client on which a client application is executed to access the web application.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one log file comprises a log file maintained by a web server that hosts the web application.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one log file comprises a log file maintained by network infrastructure of a communication network to which an application client on which a client application is executed is communicatively linked.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one log file comprises a log file maintained by network infrastructure of a communication network to which a web server that hosts the web application is communicatively linked.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further is configured to initiate executable operations comprising:

identifying at least one URL identified in the collected log file data;

wherein generating at least the first HTTP request comprises submitting in the first HTTP request a hazardous payload to the URL.

9. A computer program product for dynamically scanning a web application to perform a security analysis of the web application, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage device, wherein the computer-readable storage device is not a transitory, propagating signal per se, having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code comprising;

computer-readable program code configured to collect log file data from at least one log file;

computer-readable program code configured to enter data from the collected log file data into at least one data file, collecting the log file data comprising matching information from a previous HTTP request, which lead to a subsequent HTTP request being generated, using stateful parsing to identify information about at least one HTML parameter type using stateful parsing to identify information about at least one HTML parameter type by marking a certain parameter of the previous HTTP request as a parameter originating from a form or a hyperlink;

computer-readable program code configured to scan the at least one data file to identify information relevant to security testing;

computer-readable program code configured to, from the identified information relevant to the security testing, generate at least a first HTTP request to exercise a web application to perform the security analysis of the web application, the first HTTP request corresponding to a second HTTP request generated by prior use or development of the web application and contained in the log file, the first HTTP request including form data that is different than form data contained in the second HTTP request and configured to specifically test for security vulnerabilities in the web application;

computer-readable program code configured to communicate the first HTTP request to the web application;

computer-readable program code configured to receive at least one HTTP response to the first HTTP request;

computer-readable program code configured to analyze the HTTP response to perform validation of the web application; and

computer-readable program code configured to output results of the validation.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, the computer-readable program code further comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to filter the collected log file data to remove redundant information from the collected log file data.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, the computer-readable program code further comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to transform at least a portion of the collected log file data into at least one data structure recognizable by the web application; and

computer-readable program code configured to include the data structure in the first HTTP request.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the at least one log file comprises a log file maintained by an application client on which a client application is executed to access the web application.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the at least one log file comprises a log file maintained by at least one system selected from a group consisting of a web server that hosts the web application, network infrastructure of a communication network to which an application client on which a client application is executed is communicatively linked, and network infrastructure of a communication network to which a web server that hosts the web application is communicatively linked.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, the computer-readable program code further comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to identify at least one URL identified in the collected log file data;

wherein the computer-readable program code configured to generate at least the first HTTP request comprises computer-readable program code configured to submit in the first HTTP request a hazardous payload to the URL.