Security Flashcards

Which HTTP header prevents a browser from MIME-sniffing a response away from the declared content type?

Answer: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff

X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff tells browsers to strictly follow the declared Content-Type and not guess the type from content.

What is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attack?

Answer: An attacker tricks the server into making HTTP requests to internal or external resources on their behalf

SSRF exploits a server to make requests to internal services or external URLs that the attacker cannot directly access.

In OAuth 2.0, what is the purpose of the 'state' parameter?

Answer: To prevent CSRF attacks during the authorization flow

The 'state' parameter is a random value the client sends and verifies on return to prevent cross-site request forgery during OAuth flows.

Which of the following is the PRIMARY risk of using MD5 to hash passwords?

Answer: MD5 is too fast, making brute-force and rainbow table attacks practical

MD5's speed allows attackers to compute billions of hashes per second, making password cracking via brute-force or precomputed tables feasible.

What does the 'httpOnly' flag on a cookie do?

Answer: Prevents client-side JavaScript from accessing the cookie

The httpOnly flag blocks JavaScript's document.cookie API from reading the cookie, mitigating XSS-based session theft.

A web application returns detailed database error messages to the user. Which vulnerability class does this represent?

Answer: Information Disclosure

Exposing internal error details (stack traces, SQL errors) is classified as Information Disclosure and aids attackers in crafting targeted exploits.

Which Content Security Policy directive controls where scripts can be loaded from?

Answer: script-src

The script-src CSP directive specifies valid sources for JavaScript, blocking inline scripts and external scripts not on the allowlist.