White box penetration testing is a form of penetration testing that gives the examiner a wealth of information about the target system. This information can include the source code of the application, network diagrams, and other sensitive information. White box pentesting is often used by businesses who want to test the security of their systems before they go live. It is also used by developers who want to find vulnerabilities in their applications before they release them to the public. In this article, we will discuss the features of white box pentesting and how it differs from black-box pentesting.
What Is White Box Pentesting?
White box pentesting, also known as clear box testing, is a type of security assessment that involves taking a look at the internal workings of a system. This includes reviewing the source code, configuration files, and other proprietary information.
Who Needs White Box Pentesting?
White box pentesting is a method of testing that may be highly effective in assessing the security of an organization’s computer systems. This type of assessment is ideal for companies that have sensitive data or intellectual property stored on their servers. It can also be used by developers who want to find vulnerabilities before releasing a product to the public.
Why Is White Box Pentesting Important?
Penetration testers who have access to the source code can identify vulnerabilities much more easily than those who do not. Additionally, businesses can use the results of a white box test to improve their security posture and protect themselves from malicious actors.
White box pentesting helps businesses ensure that their systems are not vulnerable to attack from hackers and other malicious actors. It can also help them identify potential security issues with new applications before they go live, allowing organizations to take steps towards fixing these problems before releasing an application into production. The process of finding vulnerabilities in software takes time, but it’s worth doing because it means avoiding costly lawsuits down the line if someone does manage to breach your defenses later on down the road through some other exploit.
How Does White Box Pentesting Differ From Black-Box Pentesting?
Black-box pentesting is the most common type of penetration testing. It involves putting a process to the test without knowing how it works. White box pentesting, on the other hand, provides the tester with extensive information about the target system. This can include access to the source code, network layouts, and other vital data.
The main difference between these two types of testing is that white box pentesting gives testers more visibility into how the system works. This allows them to find vulnerabilities that may be hidden in the code or in configuration files. Black-box pentesters do not have this level of visibility and are limited to finding vulnerabilities through manual inspection of the system.
White box pentesting differs from black-box pentesting in a variety of ways. The following are some examples:
- Access to the application’s source code allows pentesters to look for vulnerabilities that may be hidden in the code.
- The tester can review configuration files and other sensitive information about the system. They discover how the system works and where possible weak spots may be.
- The tester can use tools like Astra’s Pentest to capture packets sent and received by the target system. This can help identify potential vulnerabilities in network communications.
White box testing is, therefore, more thorough and allows for a greater level of detail when identifying vulnerabilities. It also aids organizations in strengthening their security posture by providing them with the ability to find and repair flaws before they are exploited by hackers.
Features of White Box Pentesting
Features of white box pentesting include:
1) Access to the source code
A crucial aspect allowing the tester to review the source code for vulnerabilities and exploit them.
This allows them to identify flaws in the application much more quickly than they would be able to if they did not have access to this information. It also helps them find vulnerabilities that could go unnoticed by black-box testing methods because those methods do not give testers any insight into how the application works internally.
For example, a tester may find that an application accepts user input without validating it first. This could lead to SQL injection attacks and other types of data manipulation if left unchecked.
A tester who has access to the source code can also look at how different parts of the application interact with each other, which gives them more insight into potential weaknesses. For example, they may see that an application uses a third-party library or framework to handle user input but does not validate it first because there is no validation built into the library itself.
This would allow attackers who know about this vulnerability in the third party code (such as SQL injection) to exploit it without having any knowledge of how the application works internally.
2) Access to configuration files
Configuration files can provide valuable information about the system being tested. They can include passwords, usernames, and other sensitive data that can be used by an attacker to gain access to the system.
Testers who have access to these files can review them for vulnerabilities and exploit them. For example, they may find a file that contains a password in plaintext or one that is easily guessable.
3) Information about network communications
Wireshark or Astra’s Pentest are tools that allow testers to capture packets sent and received by the target system assisting in the identification of possible network security holes. For example, if an attacker sends a malicious packet to the target system, these tools can capture it and allow the tester to see what was in the packet.
Conclusion
White box testing or glass box or clear box testing is a process that can be used to identify the defects in the source code of the software. The major benefit of white box testing is that it aids in the detection of issues in the source code, which black-box testers may not be able to discover. Additionally, white-box testers have knowledge of the internal working of the system and can test based on that information. This makes them more effective at finding defects than black-box testers.
Seeing the inside of the system and understanding how it works can help you fix the issues with your system, making it more reliable and efficient. If you are looking for a way to improve your systems, white box testing may be the solution for you.