Website Penetration Analysis Against XSS Attacks using Payload Method

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the effectiveness of various penetration testing methods in identifying and mitigating XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) vulnerabilities in web applications. XSS is a type of web security attack that takes advantage of weaknesses in web applications to insert malicious code into web pages displayed to users. This attack can steal user data, take over user sessions, or spread malware. This research uses a penetration testing method with a black-box approach, where the researcher does not know the construction of the system being tested. Tests were conducted on 10 random websites, including 5 open-source websites and 5 commercial websites. The test results show that the payload method used is effective in exploiting XSS vulnerabilities on some websites. Of the 10 websites tested, 6 of them were successfully exploited using different payload methods. This research highlights the importance of using open-source penetration testing tools in detecting and addressing security vulnerabilities in web applications. These tools are easy to implement, supported by extensive documentation, and have a strong community. This research also emphasizes the importance of a deep understanding of how penetration testing tools work to identify and address security vulnerabilities. To address XSS vulnerabilities, this research recommends good programming techniques such as programming language updates, use of OOP (Object-Oriented Programming), MVC (Model-View-Controller) concepts, and use of frameworks. Further research can be done to develop and test new payload methods, explore the use of other penetration testing tools, and test security vulnerabilities in other types of web applications.