Report Penetration Test: Example of Mitigation Recommendations (en)

Temporary Mitigation Recommendations

• Findings: SQL Injection in the web application login form.
• Risk: Potential unauthorized access to the database, including data manipulation or privilege escalation.

Temporary Mitigation Steps:

Temporary Input Validation:

• Implement input sanitization at the application level by ensuring that all data entering the login form is escaped and filtered from special characters such as ', ", --, and ;.
• Use functions like mysqli_real_escape_string() (PHP) or parameterized queries in other applications to prevent direct injection.

Database Access Rights Restriction:

• Limit application user rights on the database. For instance, ensure that users connected through the application only have "SELECT" and "INSERT" permissions, and do not have "DROP," "UPDATE," or "DELETE" rights until full remediation can be performed.

Implementation of WAF (Web Application Firewall):

• Temporarily use a WAF to block common SQL Injection attack patterns. Many commercial or open-source WAF solutions (like ModSecurity) can be used to monitor and block malicious requests.

Implementation of Log Monitoring:

• Enable and monitor application and server logs to detect suspicious activity related to SQL Injection. This includes detecting unusual requests or patterns of attempted exploitation.

Use of Rate Limiting:

• Limit the number of requests that can be sent to the login form within a certain time frame. This will reduce the likelihood of repeated brute-force SQL Injection attacks attempting to extract information from the database.

Implementation of CAPTCHA:

• Install CAPTCHA on the login form to reduce automated attacks that may attempt to execute SQL injections repeatedly.

Note: These temporary mitigation steps do not replace full remediation. It is advisable that primary remediation, such as the use of parameterized queries or ORM (Object-Relational Mapping), be implemented promptly to entirely prevent SQL Injection.

These recommendations can be adapted according to the type of vulnerability found. The focus is to provide temporary solutions to reduce risks while waiting for full remediation.

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