Having 12+ Years of Experience in Software Development
I. Network Perimeter Security & Access Control When hosting a Shopify backend (e.g., a custom application interacting with the Shopify API, a headless CMS, or a custom storefront API) on DigitalOcean, the initial security posture is defined by network controls. This section details essential checks for auditing the network perimeter and access mechanisms. A. Firewall […]
Understanding SSRF in Webhook Parsers Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) is a critical vulnerability that allows an attacker to induce the server-side application to make HTTP requests to an arbitrary domain of the attacker’s choosing. In the context of e-commerce webhook parsers, this often arises when the parser is responsible for fetching external resources based on […]
1. Understanding ModSecurity’s Core Rule Set (CRS) and the Need for Exceptions ModSecurity, when deployed with the OWASP Core Rule Set (CRS), provides a robust Web Application Firewall (WAF) for Apache. However, its aggressive nature can sometimes lead to false positives, blocking legitimate user traffic or application functionality. For independent web developers and indie hackers […]
Understanding the Vulnerability: Unencrypted Session Files Many custom PHP applications, particularly older ones or those with bespoke session management, store session data in plain text files on the server. By default, PHP’s session handler (`files`) writes session data to a file within the directory specified by the `session.save_path` directive in php.ini. If this directory is […]
Understanding Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) in API Gateways Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA), also known as Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR) in an API context, is a critical vulnerability where an attacker can access resources they are not authorized to view or modify. This often occurs when an API endpoint directly exposes an object […]
Securing Sensitive Data in Python Applications Achieving PCI-DSS compliance necessitates rigorous security practices within your application code, particularly when handling cardholder data (CHD). This section focuses on hardening Python applications by implementing secure coding patterns and leveraging cryptographic best practices. 1. Input Validation and Sanitization Untrusted input is a primary vector for attacks. All data […]
Understanding the Threat: Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) is a critical vulnerability where an attacker can access resources they are not authorized to, simply by manipulating identifiers in API requests. In a high-traffic enterprise environment, particularly one leveraging microservices and an API gateway, this can have devastating consequences, ranging from […]
Understanding Perl’s `eval` Block Syntax and its RCE Vulnerabilities Many legacy e-commerce platforms, or those with custom integrations, might still leverage Perl for backend services or API endpoints. A particularly insidious vulnerability class in Perl arises from the misuse of the `eval` function, specifically when it’s used to execute dynamically generated code. While `eval` can […]
IAM Policy Granularity for C Backends A common pitfall when securing C backends on AWS is overly permissive IAM roles. Auditors will scrutinize the principle of least privilege. For a C application running on EC2, ECS, or EKS, its IAM role should only grant the specific permissions required for its operational tasks. This means avoiding […]
Auditing the OVH WordPress Enterprise Stack: A Deep Dive into Security and Performance Our engagement involved a high-traffic WordPress enterprise deployment hosted on OVH’s dedicated server infrastructure. The primary objectives were to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities, with a specific focus on a critical SQL injection (SQLi) flaw discovered within custom checkout query logic, and […]