The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook Discovering and Exploiting Security Flaws

Injecting into LDAP

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is used for accessing direc-

tory services over a network. A directory is a hierarchically organized data

store that may contain any kind of information but is commonly used to store

personal data such as names, telephone numbers, email addresses, and job

functions. An example of such a directory is the Active Directory used within

Windows domains. You are most likely to encounter LDAP being used in cor-

porate intranet-based web applications, such as an HR application that allows

users to view and modify information about employees.

Consider a simple application function that enables users to search 

for employee contact details by specifying an employee name, as shown in

Figure 9-9.