Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) NetworkingSecurity FundamentalsMedium
A cybersecurity analyst is investigating a recent data breach. Evidence suggests that an attacker gained access by exploiting a vulnerability in a web application's input fields, allowing them to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying database. The attacker specifically appended malicious code to a user input, which was then directly processed by the database server. Which type of attack occurred?
- ASQL Injection
- BDenial of Service (DoS)
- CBuffer Overflow
- DCross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. SQL Injection
SQL Injection is an attack that involves inserting or 'injecting' a malicious SQL query via the input data from the client to the application. The scenario explicitly mentions exploiting 'input fields' to 'execute arbitrary commands on the underlying database' by 'appending malicious code to a user input' processed by the 'database server,' which perfectly describes SQL injection.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. DoS attacks aim to make a service unavailable, not to execute commands on a database through input fields.
- C. Buffer Overflow attacks involve writing too much data into a buffer, causing adjacent memory to be overwritten, not primarily database command execution.
- D. CSRF forces an end-user to execute unwanted actions on a web application they're currently authenticated to.
SQL Injection
A code injection technique used to attack data-driven applications, in which malicious SQL statements are inserted into an entry field for execution.
- Targets web application input fields.
- Exploits vulnerabilities in database queries.
- Can lead to data theft, modification, or deletion.
Memory trick: Web attacks are like sneaking bad code through the browser's back door.