Web Server Hacking, Web Applications, and Database Attacks

Introduction

Chapter 8 introduces you to the world of the Web. It looks at the various hacks, attacks, and cracks that are targeted at Internet servers, the applications that sit behind them, and the databases in which their information is stored. It's an infrastructure ripe for attack because after all, it is the one thing that hackers everywhere can access. Your internal network might be inaccessible, your wireless network might be accessible only from inside the plant or from a close proximity, but the website has a global reach. Expect it to be probed, prodded, and scanned with regular frequency.

As an ethical hacker, you might be asked to help develop defenses to guard your organization's web-based assets, or you might be part of a penetration team tasked with finding weaknesses. The CEH exam will expect you to have a base competence in these subjects. Let's get started by reviewing web servers.