Insecure design is a security loophole that emanates from poor design and architecture flaws which should be put in place at the planning stage before the implementation.
Insecure design vulnerabilities are caused when developers fail to cover and evaluate possible threats the web application could be exposed to during the development stage where the code is being designed. Insecure design vulnerabilities arise due to zero or poor enforcement of security best practices at the foundation of the web application design. The architecture of web applications should be modeled toward the prevention of prominent attack methods which keeps surging high in cyberspace.
The threat modeling approach, a defense mechanism against insecure design vulnerability should be enforced at the building stage to look at possible changes in security operations and threat landscape analysis and the conditions through which they could occur.
Insecure design vulnerabilities Insecure storage of sensitive data and credentials web application developers ignore the importance of implementing security practices. This flaw could lead to poor password management, poor file configurations, design flaws, poor access for certificate generation, authentication malfunctions that attackers could leverage to gain user privileges, and authorizations to harness sensitive data and administrative functions.
Violation of trusted boundaries violating connection between users that allows them to smoothly exchange resources. When web developers often do not differentiate between the interface which allows the exchange and storage of trusted and untrusted data in the same store or allows the exchange of malicious resources and commands. The vulnerability arises when there are no controlled external inputs into the web application.
Poor compartmentalization or segregation Not efficiently separating structures, systems, or units that do not belong to the same environment or have the same degree or mode of operations, control, access, or permissions. Threat actors can grasp other compartments once they can get the slightest chance to access them and further extend to other compartments.
Insecure design exploits
- Bruteforcing
- SQL injection attack
- Path transversal
- Privilege escalation
- The giant attack blast radius
OWASP Preventive measure recommendations
Mitigate against the chances of application design flaws and enhance improved performances by seeking the guidance of professional security experts from the foundation stage through its completion.
Always use design components from the secure design pattern library throughout the stages in the lifecycle of the web application architecture.
Enforce the threat modeling approach, a defense mechanism against insecure design vulnerability should be enforced at the building stage to look at possible changes in security operations and threat landscape analysis and the conditions through which they could occur.
To limit cases associated with Overconsumption which leads to resource exhaustion and higher risks of design flaws, consumption of resources per user or per service should be within an optimal limit.
Isolation and partitioning of different tier layers and environments according to use or need. should be done as per the level of protection a compartment requires and the level of exposure that the application experiences.