The Tangled Web: A Guide to Securing Modern Web Applications

  • 6h 25m
  • Michal Zalewski
  • No Starch Press
  • 2012

Modern web applications are built on a tangle of technologies that have been developed over time and then haphazardly pieced together. Every piece of the web application stack, from HTTP requests to browser-side scripts, comes with important yet subtle security consequences. To keep users safe, it is essential for developers to confidently navigate this landscape.

In The Tangled Web, Michal Zalewski, one of the world's top browser security experts, offers a compelling narrative that explains exactly how browsers work and why they're fundamentally insecure. Rather than dispense simplistic advice on vulnerabilities, Zalewski examines the entire browser security model, revealing weak points and providing crucial information for shoring up web application security. You'll learn how to:

  • Perform common but surprisingly complex tasks such as URL parsing and HTML sanitization
  • Use modern security features like Strict Transport Security, Content Security Policy, and Cross-Origin Resource Sharing
  • Leverage many variants of the same-origin policy to safely compartmentalize complex web applications and protect user credentials in case of XSS bugs
  • Build mashups and embed gadgets without getting stung by the tricky frame navigation policy
  • Embed or host user-supplied content without running into the trap of content sniffing

For quick reference, "Security Engineering Cheat Sheets" at the end of each chapter offer ready solutions to problems you're most likely to encounter. With coverage extending as far as planned HTML5 features, The Tangled Web will help you create secure web applications that stand the test of time.

About the Author

Michal Zalewski is an internationally recognized information security expert with a long track record of delivering cutting-edge research. He is credited with discovering hundreds of notable security vulnerabilities and frequently appears on lists of the most influential security experts. He is the author of Silence on the Wire (No Starch Press), Google's Browser Security Handbook, and numerous important research papers.

In this Book

  • The Tangled Web—A Guide to Securing Modern Web Applications
  • Security in the World of Web Applications
  • It Starts with a URL
  • Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • Hypertext Markup Language
  • Cascading Style Sheets
  • Browser-Side Scripts
  • Non-HTML Document Types
  • Content Rendering with Browser Plug-ins
  • Content Isolation Logic
  • Origin Inheritance
  • Life Outside Same-Origin Rules
  • Other Security Boundaries
  • Content Recognition Mechanisms
  • Dealing with Rogue Scripts
  • Extrinsic Site Privileges
  • New and Upcoming Security Features
  • Other Browser Mechanisms of Note
  • Common Web Vulnerabilities
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