Most Common Application-Level Attacks CASEJAVA Practice Questions (Page 3)

Questions 11–15

1. 11expert · hard

   A Java application is being redesigned to handle untrusted input from multiple sources. The team must choose a strategy to prevent injection attacks while maintaining performance. Which approach best balances security and performance?

   • AUse parameterized queries for SQL, context-aware output encoding for XSS, and allow-list validation for all inputs
   • BRely solely on a web application firewall (WAF) to filter malicious requests
   • CUse a single global input sanitization function that strips all special characters
   • DEncode all output and never validate input
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 12expert · hard

   A Java web application allows users to upload files. The application stores the files on the local filesystem and serves them back with the original filename. An attacker uploads a file named `../../etc/cron.d/evil` and the application does not sanitize the filename. Which of the following is the most likely impact?

   • AThe attacker can overwrite or create files outside the intended upload directory, potentially leading to remote code execution
   • BThe attacker can cause a denial of service by filling the disk
   • CThe attacker can read arbitrary files on the server
   • DThe attacker can steal session cookies of other users
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 13application · medium

   A Java application uses XML to exchange data with a partner system. An attacker submits an XML payload that defines an external entity pointing to a local file, and the server returns the file contents in the response. Which attack is this, and what is the best mitigation?

   • AInsecure deserialization; object input filtering
   • BSQL injection; prepared statements
   • CCross-site scripting; output encoding
   • DXML External Entity (XXE); disable external entity processing in the XML parser
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 14expert · hard

   An attacker exploits a CSRF vulnerability to change a user's email address. The application uses anti-CSRF tokens but does not re-authenticate for sensitive actions. Which additional control would most effectively reduce the impact of CSRF on this sensitive action?

   • AImplement a WAF rule to block requests with suspicious Referer headers
   • BRequire re-authentication for email changes
   • CUse HTTP-only cookies for session management
   • DAdd a second anti-CSRF token in a custom header
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 15expert · hard

   A security audit reveals that an application uses a custom authentication filter that checks a 'role' attribute stored in a cookie. The filter also fails to invalidate sessions after logout. Which two OWASP Top 10 categories are most directly implicated?

   • ACSRF and Insecure Deserialization
   • BBroken Access Control and Broken Authentication
   • CCross-site Scripting and Sensitive Data Exposure
   • DInjection and Security Misconfiguration
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first