Melissa Miller
- Token Extractor (this one is covered the most)
- Custom Parameter Handler
- Add Custom Header
- Authentication Token Obtain and Replace
- Stepper
Again, I recommend that you follow along with the demo using this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/csrf/bypassing-token-validation/lab-token-not-tied-to-user-session
For additional practice on this same concept as well as incorporating some elements from the first video, I recommend downloading OWASP's Juice Shop and creating a login macro. Note that the tricky thing with that is the login request doesn't contain a "Set-Cookie" header in the response.
This one might be a bit complex, but another practice lab could be to make a macro to gather the CSRF token and CSRF key (cookie) to repeatedly change a user's email via this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/csrf/bypassing-token-validation/lab-token-tied-to-non-session-cookie. Assume that you need to use a new CSRF Key cookie and CSRF token in each email change request. Hint: you'll have two requests in the macro, one to get the initial CSRF token, CSRF key cookie, and unauthenticated session cookie, and the other to get the authenticated session.
Macros for Complex Situations
In this last video, I cover and demonstrate macros for very complex situations that require multiple requests and multiple variable updates.
The key steps that I cover for dealing with complex macros are:
- Replicate browser behavior in Repeater
- Look for reductions in steps
- Write down required URLs
- Optionally: mark where parameters are set and used
- Select Macro steps and test
- Alternate between setting tokens and testing your Macro
Unsurprisingly, I recommend that you follow along with the demo using this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/oauth/lab-oauth-authentication-bypass-via-oauth-implicit-flow
Because that last concept is a real doozy, and you may not even feel confident after following along, we’ve built a custom application (RIGHT HERE) for you to run to be able to practice the concepts taught in all 3 of these videos.
What is this app?
A stock trading app that has a multi-step process. In order to efficiently test for the stored Cross-Site-Scripting (XSS) that exists on the application, you’ll need to make a macro! Also, be sure to have your volume up when you use the app...
Is there anything else I should know?
Here are the built-in users:
| Username | Password |
|---|---|
| Hugo | I8StinkySocks! |
| Layla | 2BirdsInHand! |
| Silas | 99Problems&UR!1 |
Here are the Authorized Tickers:
- LUV
- EAT
- HOG
- PLAY
- BOOM
- BEN
- CAKE
I’m having a hard time replicating the flow, can I have a hint?
(Click to reveal hint)
If there’s something you can’t see, remember to check your responses. Yes, we are encouraging you to test in Burp!
I’m still having a hard time, but this time I can’t figure out how to have the whole flow automated. CAN I PLEASE GET ANOTHER HINT?
(Click to reveal hint)
Remember that you can have both pre and post-request macros...you might need both here 😉
Ok, I’ve got the macro and I’ve found the XSS, is there anything else I can do?
You can try to replicate testing for XSS in Intruder by making sure that you’re following redirects and using Grep – Extract to return the outcome of your payload.
Another thing you can try is to go in blindfolded and practice brute-forcing at each step assuming no prior knowledge. For example, brute-force usernames, passwords, the MFA code, and ticker. You might have a harder time brute-forcing the longer CSRF token or the transaction ID, but you’re welcome to do that too!
Now, with all of that, hopefully you've conquered any lingering fears of Macros and can use them to aid your testing process.
Remember that their uses aren't just limited to the examples that I've shown above, so get creative with it! Proactively think about when the introduction of a Macro might either save you time or allow you to introduce automation. In the meantime, check out more of our technical blogs on Web Application Penetration Testing here.
[post_title] => Macros Demystified [post_excerpt] => These tutorials on Burp Suite's Macros will level up your skills in the basics of Macros, gathering dynamic values, and using Macros for complex situations. Plus, you can practice those skills on a custom lab that we’ve built to accompany these tutorials. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => macros-demystified [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-09-22 09:56:19 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-09-22 14:56:19 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.netspi.com/?p=31071 [menu_order] => 61 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 28636 [post_author] => 130 [post_date] => 2022-10-18 09:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-10-18 14:00:00 [post_content] =>Recent data indicates the cybersecurity industry continues to grapple with talent and skills gaps and the lack of diversity across its workforce. In fact, a recent survey from Boston Consulting Group revealed that 75% of cybersecurity workers are men, and in a recent survey from Heidrick & Struggles, only 14% of U.S. cyber leaders identified as women and/or people of color. Beyond this, for women, people of color, and entry-level or remote workers—imposter syndrome or feeling an inherent sense of otherness is not uncommon.
As we amplify this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme “See Yourself in Cyber”, focusing on the people that make up the cybersecurity industry— it’s important to recognize what the industry can do to empower more people to see themselves in a cyber career. Here are a few steps we can take collectively to combat the issues surrounding imposture syndrome and diversity, and further progress as an industry.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
In order to “see yourself” you also must believe that you belong in cyber. When I first started my career in cybersecurity, I experienced a feeling that many of my other female peers have also experienced - that I needed to change to be “one of the guys.”
Over time, I learned that my opinions and insights are just as valuable as those of my male peers. As such, I always make it a point to create safe spaces for employees to be themselves and feel empowered to advocate for themselves. Overcoming imposter syndrome requires reshaping your view of yourself and what makes you unique in a more positive light. Here are some techniques I’ve practiced to help me become more confident:
- Remember time is your biggest helper. As your confidence and knowledge grows in your position, things will get better. Remembering this can be helpful in and of itself.
- Take a step back. When you catch yourself playing the comparison game and losing, ask yourself, "am I really comparing apples to apples here?" Most of the time your answer will be "no." Once you've gotten that more realistic perspective, it's a lot easier to pull yourself out of a negative spiral and prevent the seeds of imposter syndrome from taking root.
- Know your own strengths and weaknesses. Having a more accurate self-image can help combat moments of imposter syndrome and can make it easier to set yourself up for success. If you have an over-inflated sense of some of your skills, you can be setting yourself up for failure. In the other direction, if you're undervaluing your skills, that could cause you to pass on opportunities where you would've shined.
Cultivating a Safe and Inclusive Culture
Creating a culture where employees feel safe and empowered to do their best work is also essential in our industry. As an employer, it can help to ask the following questions:
- Do we encourage open feedback?
- Employees must feel empowered to let their teams/organization know what is and is not working for them. This will have a positive impact on work culture and overall productivity.
- Is self-care and mental health built into our culture?
- While employees must ultimately ensure they are creating a work-life balance for themselves, it’s difficult to do so without the support of a workplace that builds the concept of prioritizing mental health and self-care into their culture.
- Does our company culture inspire collectiveness?
- Creating spaces for human interaction can help everyone feel more connected, especially in a hybrid environment. At NetSPI, we have Slack channels dedicated to nearly every hobby and interest under the sun, and a “Kudos” channel for employees to call out their coworkers for a job well done. It's a positive place for the entire organization to find community and celebrate together. This also reiterates that everything we do is a part of an ecosystem.
- Are we striving towards more diversity?
- Companies should have specific goals/initiatives to seek out diverse new hires. Consider implementing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) committee to both retain current diverse employees and reach out into the community.
- Every company should revisit their job descriptions and requirements, especially in the technical fields, to ensure they are inclusive of people that come from varying backgrounds. Focusing on hiring based on skillset allows us to open opportunities to those that will excel in the position that may have been prevented in the more traditional experienced-focused mindset. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves, “How do we make cybersecurity jobs more accessible to more people?”
Championing More Diversity in Cybersecurity
In order to achieve better growth and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce, more emphasis needs to be placed on the concept of variety in race, ethnicity, gender identity, and diversity of thought. This means developing a deeper understanding of the differences and experiences that shape people’s perspectives, and intentionally incorporating them into creative problem solving.
When diversity is championed, it drives better culture, productivity, retention rates, and overall business success. Additionally, we can effectively reduce the “boys club” stigma commonly associated with the industry. Ultimately, this encourages more people to pursue cybersecurity-related education, leading to more diversity in the workforce.
Furthermore, organizations must work together to provide more equitable learning, coaching and mentoring opportunities for talent new to the industry. At NetSPI, we are addressing this issue through NetSPI University, an extensive entry-level training program where candidates gain a baseline skill set to execute web application penetration testing and external network penetration testing, led by NetSPI’s expert pentesters.
We have also started to partner with organizations such as WiCyS (Women in Cybersecurity) and Girls Hack Village whose purpose is to create a safe space for attendees to learn about cybersecurity and the challenges that women in the industry face.
Most importantly, organizations must hold themselves accountable to take tangible steps towards more diversity. Beyond basic “check the box” hiring exercises, the question is: “How can cybersecurity leaders hold space and give credibility to varied voices and ideas?” As we take this month to reflect on ways in which we can move the cybersecurity industry forward, it’s imperative to remember that change starts with nurturing our people.
[post_title] => Tackling Diversity and Imposter Syndrome During Cybersecurity Awareness Month [post_excerpt] => Here are a few steps we can take collectively to combat the issues surrounding imposture syndrome and diversity, and further progress as an industry. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => diversity-and-imposture-syndrome [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-05-23 08:51:18 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-05-23 13:51:18 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.netspi.com/?p=28636 [menu_order] => 189 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 28666 [post_author] => 130 [post_date] => 2022-10-14 08:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-10-14 13:00:00 [post_content] =>On October 14, NetSPI Managing Consultant Melissa Miller was featured in the Security Systems News article called Inkhouse Virtual Media Panel on Diversity in Cybersecurity Touches on Key Insights. Read the preview below or view it online.
+++
YARMOUTH, Maine – The tech industry and cybersecurity field remains for the moment an old boys club, however a group of leading women in security and human resources came together this week to discuss strengthening the industry through diversity.
The “Bridging the Security Talent Gap Through Diverse Viewpoints” virtual panel was hosted by Inkhouse, a Massachusetts based public relations firm. Guest speakers were joined by moderator Jessica Bettencourt to find an answer for the disparity in the security industry. According to Bettencourt, recent studies by (ISC)² show that women only make up 24% of the cybersecurity field, and more, that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to face pay discrepancies and hold non-managerial roles at their companies.
As for more advice for job seekers looking to break into the market, Bettencourt asked panelists what some of the soft skills they most looked for in candidates.
“I have two here, the first as much as we may not like it is public speaking.” Melissa Miller, Managing Security Consultant at NetSPI stressed. Preparation and clarity are important in the role, and she said public speaking exhibits that perfectly. The second to her is passion for the field.
You can read the full article at Security Systems News!
[post_title] => Security Systems News: Inkhouse Virtual Media Panel on Diversity in Cybersecurity Touches on Key Insights [post_excerpt] => NetSPI's Melissa Miller gives career advice in Security System New's article, Inkhouse Virtual Media Panel on Diversity in Cybersecurity. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => security-systems-news-diversity-in-cybersecurity [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-01-23 15:10:06 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-01-23 21:10:06 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.netspi.com/?p=28666 [menu_order] => 191 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 3 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 31071 [post_author] => 130 [post_date] => 2023-09-22 09:56:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-09-22 14:56:11 [post_content] =>How to Get Away with Murder Macros
Have you ever felt personally victimized by Burp Suite's Macros? Well fear not, after watching these three videos and following along with the exercises (including a custom practice app that we made just for you!), you'll be a Macro Magician in no time!
- Basics of Macros
- Gathering Dynamic Values
- Macros for Complex Situations
Basics of Macros
In this first video, I cover a couple of basics of Macros: what they are, why we might use them, and 2 demos of basic usage.
I recommend that while watching the video, you follow along with the demos that use this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/csrf/lab-no-defenses
(Psst, a side-quest for these 3 videos is to count the number of Scanny's that appear!)
Gathering Dynamic Values
In this second video, I cover the next layer of complexity with macros: gathering dynamic values from responses and using them in following requests. I also touch on some related extensions:
- Token Extractor (this one is covered the most)
- Custom Parameter Handler
- Add Custom Header
- Authentication Token Obtain and Replace
- Stepper
Again, I recommend that you follow along with the demo using this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/csrf/bypassing-token-validation/lab-token-not-tied-to-user-session
For additional practice on this same concept as well as incorporating some elements from the first video, I recommend downloading OWASP's Juice Shop and creating a login macro. Note that the tricky thing with that is the login request doesn't contain a "Set-Cookie" header in the response.
This one might be a bit complex, but another practice lab could be to make a macro to gather the CSRF token and CSRF key (cookie) to repeatedly change a user's email via this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/csrf/bypassing-token-validation/lab-token-tied-to-non-session-cookie. Assume that you need to use a new CSRF Key cookie and CSRF token in each email change request. Hint: you'll have two requests in the macro, one to get the initial CSRF token, CSRF key cookie, and unauthenticated session cookie, and the other to get the authenticated session.
Macros for Complex Situations
In this last video, I cover and demonstrate macros for very complex situations that require multiple requests and multiple variable updates.
The key steps that I cover for dealing with complex macros are:
- Replicate browser behavior in Repeater
- Look for reductions in steps
- Write down required URLs
- Optionally: mark where parameters are set and used
- Select Macro steps and test
- Alternate between setting tokens and testing your Macro
Unsurprisingly, I recommend that you follow along with the demo using this lab: https://portswigger.net/web-security/oauth/lab-oauth-authentication-bypass-via-oauth-implicit-flow
Because that last concept is a real doozy, and you may not even feel confident after following along, we’ve built a custom application (RIGHT HERE) for you to run to be able to practice the concepts taught in all 3 of these videos.
What is this app?
A stock trading app that has a multi-step process. In order to efficiently test for the stored Cross-Site-Scripting (XSS) that exists on the application, you’ll need to make a macro! Also, be sure to have your volume up when you use the app...
Is there anything else I should know?
Here are the built-in users:
| Username | Password |
|---|---|
| Hugo | I8StinkySocks! |
| Layla | 2BirdsInHand! |
| Silas | 99Problems&UR!1 |
Here are the Authorized Tickers:
- LUV
- EAT
- HOG
- PLAY
- BOOM
- BEN
- CAKE
I’m having a hard time replicating the flow, can I have a hint?
(Click to reveal hint)
If there’s something you can’t see, remember to check your responses. Yes, we are encouraging you to test in Burp!
I’m still having a hard time, but this time I can’t figure out how to have the whole flow automated. CAN I PLEASE GET ANOTHER HINT?
(Click to reveal hint)
Remember that you can have both pre and post-request macros...you might need both here 😉
Ok, I’ve got the macro and I’ve found the XSS, is there anything else I can do?
You can try to replicate testing for XSS in Intruder by making sure that you’re following redirects and using Grep – Extract to return the outcome of your payload.
Another thing you can try is to go in blindfolded and practice brute-forcing at each step assuming no prior knowledge. For example, brute-force usernames, passwords, the MFA code, and ticker. You might have a harder time brute-forcing the longer CSRF token or the transaction ID, but you’re welcome to do that too!
Now, with all of that, hopefully you've conquered any lingering fears of Macros and can use them to aid your testing process.
Remember that their uses aren't just limited to the examples that I've shown above, so get creative with it! Proactively think about when the introduction of a Macro might either save you time or allow you to introduce automation. In the meantime, check out more of our technical blogs on Web Application Penetration Testing here.
[post_title] => Macros Demystified [post_excerpt] => These tutorials on Burp Suite's Macros will level up your skills in the basics of Macros, gathering dynamic values, and using Macros for complex situations. Plus, you can practice those skills on a custom lab that we’ve built to accompany these tutorials. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => macros-demystified [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-09-22 09:56:19 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-09-22 14:56:19 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.netspi.com/?p=31071 [menu_order] => 61 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [comment_count] => 0 [current_comment] => -1 [found_posts] => 3 [max_num_pages] => 0 [max_num_comment_pages] => 0 [is_single] => [is_preview] => [is_page] => [is_archive] => [is_date] => [is_year] => [is_month] => [is_day] => [is_time] => [is_author] => [is_category] => [is_tag] => [is_tax] => [is_search] => [is_feed] => [is_comment_feed] => [is_trackback] => [is_home] => 1 [is_privacy_policy] => [is_404] => [is_embed] => [is_paged] => [is_admin] => [is_attachment] => [is_singular] => [is_robots] => [is_favicon] => [is_posts_page] => [is_post_type_archive] => [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => d21f9ed1226d0f01169b4690e4e8cd20 [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => [thumbnails_cached] => [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => query_vars_hash [1] => query_vars_changed ) [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => init_query_flags [1] => parse_tax_query ) )