312-50V12 · Question #296
Which of the following web vulnerabilities would an attacker be attempting to exploit if they delivered the following input?
The correct answer is B. XXE. The input provided is characteristic of an attempt to exploit an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability by defining and referencing an external entity within an XML document.
Question
Options
- ASQLi
- BXXE
- CXXS
- DIDOR
How the community answered
(33 responses)- B94% (31)
- C3% (1)
- D3% (1)
Why each option
The input provided is characteristic of an attempt to exploit an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability by defining and referencing an external entity within an XML document.
SQLi (SQL Injection) involves injecting malicious SQL commands into data input fields to manipulate backend database queries, which is distinct from XML entity processing.
An XXE vulnerability occurs when an XML parser processes a specially crafted XML document containing an external entity declaration, such as `<!DOCTYPE foo [ <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd"> ]>`. This allows an attacker to compel the parser to fetch content from local files or remote resources, potentially leading to information disclosure, Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), or remote code execution.
XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) involves injecting client-side scripts (typically JavaScript) into web pages to be executed in other users' browsers, not manipulating server-side XML parsers.
IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference) exploits involve manipulating direct references to internal implementation objects (e.g., user IDs in URLs) to access unauthorized resources, unrelated to XML parsing.
Concept tested: XML External Entity (XXE) exploitation
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/xml/security-considerations-when-using-xml-data
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