#Access Control

• Authentication, Authorization, and Access Control

  15 min read • Published on April 1, 2023

  An in-depth technical analysis of AAA frameworks for expert practitioners, exploring modern authentication mechanisms, authorization models, access control paradigms, and their implementation patterns with Node.js examples.

• Web Security Guide

  43 min read • Published on February 15, 2023

  Master web application security from OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities to production implementation, covering authentication, authorization, input validation, and security headers for building secure applications.TLDRWeb Security is a comprehensive discipline encompassing OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, secure development practices, authentication systems, and defense-in-depth strategies for building resilient web applications.Foundational Security PrinciplesSecure SDLC: Security integrated throughout development lifecycle (requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance)Defense in Depth: Multiple security layers (physical, network, application, data, monitoring)Principle of Least Privilege: Minimum necessary access rights for users, programs, and processesFail Securely: Systems default to secure state during errors or failuresOWASP Top 10 2021 VulnerabilitiesA01: Broken Access Control: Unauthorized access, privilege escalation, IDOR vulnerabilitiesA02: Cryptographic Failures: Weak encryption, poor key management, insecure transmissionA03: Injection: SQL injection, XSS, command injection, NoSQL injectionA04: Insecure Design: Flaws in architecture, missing security controls, design weaknessesA05: Security Misconfiguration: Default configurations, exposed services, unnecessary featuresA06: Vulnerable Components: Outdated dependencies, known vulnerabilities, supply chain attacksA07: Authentication Failures: Weak authentication, session management, credential stuffingA08: Software and Data Integrity: Untrusted data sources, CI/CD vulnerabilities, insecure updatesA09: Security Logging Failures: Insufficient logging, missing monitoring, inadequate incident responseA10: Server-Side Request Forgery: SSRF attacks, unauthorized resource access, internal network exposureSecurity Architecture by Rendering StrategySSG Security: Static file serving, reduced attack surface, CDN security, build-time validationSSR Security: Server-side vulnerabilities, session management, input validation, rate limitingCSR Security: Client-side security, XSS prevention, CSP implementation, secure APIsHybrid Security: Multi-layer defense, edge security, authentication strategiesEssential HTTP Security HeadersContent Security Policy (CSP): XSS prevention, resource restrictions, nonce/hash-based policiesStrict-Transport-Security (HSTS): HTTPS enforcement, secure cookie handlingX-Frame-Options: Clickjacking prevention, frame embedding controlsX-Content-Type-Options: MIME type sniffing preventionReferrer-Policy: Referrer information control, privacy protectionPermissions-Policy: Feature policy enforcement, API access controlAuthentication and Session SecurityMulti-Factor Authentication: TOTP, SMS, hardware tokens, biometric authenticationOAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect: Standardized authorization, JWT tokens, scope managementSession Management: Secure session storage, session fixation prevention, timeout policiesPassword Security: Strong hashing (bcrypt, Argon2), password policies, breach detectionCryptographic ImplementationEncryption Standards: AES-256, RSA-2048+, ECC curves, TLS 1.3Key Management: Hardware security modules, key rotation, secure key storageHash Functions: SHA-256, bcrypt, Argon2, salt generation, pepper usageDigital Signatures: RSA signatures, ECDSA, certificate validationInput Validation and Output EncodingInput Validation: Whitelist validation, type checking, length limits, format validationOutput Encoding: HTML encoding, URL encoding, JavaScript encoding, SQL escapingSanitization: HTML sanitization, file upload validation, content filteringParameterized Queries: Prepared statements, ORM usage, query parameterizationAccess Control and AuthorizationRole-Based Access Control (RBAC): User roles, permission inheritance, role hierarchiesAttribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): Dynamic permissions, contextual access controlAPI Security: Rate limiting, authentication, authorization, input validationResource Protection: File access control, database permissions, service isolationSecurity Testing and ValidationStatic Analysis: Code scanning, dependency analysis, SAST toolsDynamic Testing: Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, DAST toolsSecurity Audits: Code reviews, architecture reviews, compliance assessmentsIncident Response: Security monitoring, alerting, incident handling, recovery proceduresImplementation Best PracticesSecure Coding: Input validation, output encoding, error handling, loggingConfiguration Management: Secure defaults, environment-specific configs, secrets managementMonitoring and Logging: Security events, audit trails, real-time monitoring, alertingIncident Response: Detection, containment, eradication, recovery, lessons learned