2 cissp ® Official Study Guide Eighth Edition

 Database Vulnerability Scanning 
Databases contain some of an organization’s most sensitive information and are lucrative 
targets for attackers. While most databases are protected from direct external access by 
fi rewalls, web applications offer a portal into those databases, and attackers may leverage 
database-backed web applications to direct attacks against databases, including SQL injec-
tion attacks. 

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Chapter 15 
■
Security Assessment and Testing
SQL injection attacks and other web applications vulnerabilities are dis-
cussed in more detail in Chapter 21, “Malicious Code and Application 
Attacks.” Database security issues are covered in Chapter 9, “Security Vul-
nerabilities, Threats, and Countermeasures.”
Database vulnerability scanners are tools that allow security professionals to scan both 
databases and web applications for vulnerabilities that may affect database security.
sql-
map
is a commonly used open-source database vulnerability scanner that allows security 
administrators to probe web applications for database vulnerabilities. Figure 15.6 shows an 
example of sqlmap scanning a web application. 
F I G u r e 15 . 6
Scanning a database-backed application with sqlmap
 Vulnerability Management Workflow 
Organizations that adopt a vulnerability management system should also develop a work-
fl ow approach to managing vulnerabilities. The basic steps in this workfl ow should include 
the following: 
1.
Detection
: The initial identification of a vulnerability normally takes place as the result 
of a vulnerability scan. 
2.
Validation
: Once a scanner detects a vulnerability, administrators should confirm the 
vulnerability to determine that it is not a false positive report. 

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Performing Vulnerability Assessments