CS 483 Final Review Guide

The C.I.A. Triad

The C.I.A. Triad Means-

• Authentication: Verify identity (passwords, biometrics, cards, etc.).
  
  

• Authorization: Check user permissions.
  
  

  Audit: Maintain logs to track critical events.
  

Reverse Engineering

• Purpose: Understand software design and functionality (used in auditing, malware analysis, compatibility).
  
  

• Process: Gather data → analyze structure → analyze behavior → modify/test.
  
  

• Tools: IDA, Ghidra, BinaryNinja, OllyDbg, Wireshark, etc.
  

Code Obfuscation

• Applications: IP protection, anti-tampering, evasion of analysis.
  
  

• Techniques:
  
  

  • Control flow obfuscation
    
    

  • Code packing
    
    

  • Variable/function renaming
    
    

  • Opaque predicates
    
    

  • Dead code insertion
    
    

  • String encryption
    
    

  • Dynamic code generation
    

3. Secure Design Principles
   
   

Example: Simple Web Server

3. Secure Design Principles
   
   

Principles

1. Minimal Attack Surface
   
   

2. Least Privilege
   
   

3. Defense-in-Depth
   
   

4. Fail-Safe Stance
   
   

5. Secure by Default
   
   

6. Separation of Duties
   
   

7. Avoidance of Security Through Obscurity
   
   

8. Robust Resource Management
   
   

9. Forensic Readiness
   
   

10. Security Features ≠ Security
    

Inheritance Security Concepts and Risks

• Concepts: Overriding, Polymorphism, Dynamic Binding.
  Risk: Malicious overriding (e.g., SafeManager example with malicious clone() in MaliciousDate class).

Inheritance security Java hashCode & equals contract

Java hashCode & equals contract: Properly overriding these prevents attackers from faking object equality to retrieve protected data.

Integer Security

Issue: Integer overflows in C, C++, Java can cause vulnerabilities.

Integer Security Examples

• Silent overflow in Java's built-in integer types.
  
  

• Unsafe memory allocation (e.g., JPEG comment field overflow).
  
  

• Sign errors (signed to unsigned conversions leading to buffer overflows).
  
  

Truncation vulnerabilities.

Integer Security Mitigations

• Use Math.addExact(), BigInteger in Java.
  
  

• Apply secure coding practices in C/C++.

What is Fuzzing?

• Testing by providing random or invalid inputs to discover vulnerabilities.
  
  

Fuzzing Types

• Generation-based: Create inputs from scratch (e.g., URL parsing).
  
  

• Mutation-based: Modify existing valid inputs (e.g., image file fuzzing).

Fuzzing Tools & Concepts

• SAGE (Microsoft)
  
  

• Smart vs. dumb fuzzing
  
  

• Used for file formats, protocols, APIs, databases, etc.

SQL Injection

Exploiting improper user input validation to execute arbitrary SQL commands.

SQL Injection Common Attacks

• Tautology (' OR 1=1--).
  
  

• Union-based (UNION SELECT ... FROM creditcards).
  
  

• Additional commands (DROP TABLE creditcards).

SQL Injection Prevention

• Use parameterized queries.
  
  

• Input validation.
  
  

• Principle of least privilege for database accounts.

Secure Software Processes Models

• Waterfall: Sequential development stages.
  
  

Agile: Incremental, iterative (Scrum, Kanban).

Secure Software Processes Why Vulnerabilities Happen

• Poor requirements/design
  
  

• Misuse of cryptography
  
  

• Language/platform vulnerabilities
  
  

Bad coding practices & flawed assumptions

Secure Software Processes Threat-Driven Development

• Threat modeling as part of the design process.

Secure Software Process

Process

Decompose system → Determine threats → Rank threats → Mitigate threats.

Secure Software Processes STRIDE Methodology

STRIDE Methodology

• Spoofing
  
  

• Tampering
  
  

• Repudiation
  
  

• Information disclosure
  
  

• Denial of service
  
  

• Elevation of privilege

Secure Software Processes Tools

• Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool
  
  

• OWASP Threat Dragon