Thick Client Penetration Testing Modern Approaches and Techniques

1. ThickClientPenetration Testing:Modern ApproachesandTechniques What IsThickClient PenetrationTesting? A client program that can offer rich functionality withoutrelyingonthe serverinanetworkis referred to as a “thick client,” also known as a “fat client.” The majority of thick client operations can becarriedoutwithoutanactiveserver connection.While theydooccasionallyneedto connecttoanetworkonthecentralserver,they

2. can operate independently and may contain locallystored resources. • On the other hand, a “thin client” is a client program or computer that requires a connection to the server in order to work. Thin clients rely heavily on server access each time they need to analyze or validate input data because they perform as little processing on their own as is feasible. • Why dothickclientapplicationsneedtesting? • For internal operations, thick client applications are crucial. They are frequently used to interact with private data, such as financial and health recordsand theyprovideasignificantdangertoa business, particularly if they are legacy applications. • Thick clients function differently, and each has advantages and disadvantages of their own. The security that thin clients offer over thick clients is oneoftheirmain advantages. The following are some of the main security issues with thick clients: • Sensitivedatadisclosure.

3. Denialof Service(DoS). • Improperaccesscontrol. • Impropersessionmanagement. • Reverseengineering. • Injectionattacks. • Variableandresponsemanipulation. • Impropererrorhandling. • Insecurestorage. • Howcanthickclientappsbetested? • Thickclientapplicationsrequireacertain strategy whenitcomestoapenetration testbecausethey are typically more involved and customized than onlineormobileapplications. • When dealing with a thick client application, the initialstep isto obtain data, suchas: • Identifying the technologies being utilized on boththeserverandclientsides. • Determining the behaviour and operation of the program. • Locatingtheentirevarioususerinputentry • locations. • Recognizingtheapplication’sprimarysecurity techniques.

4. Recognizing widespreadvulnerabilitiesin things likelanguagesand frameworks. • Phases of Thick Client Application Vulnerability Assessment&PenetrationTesting • MappingandScoping • Make a business process model and agree to it. By identifying and regulating access to documents and information, scoping ensures their security. It makes it possible to map out the problems for subsequent steps. A brief meeting with the client will berequiredaspart ofthisprocess toreview and confirm the rules of engagement for Thick Client &PenetrationTestingaswellasto establish theprojectscopeandtesting schedule. • EnumerationandInformationGathering • The tester receives information from this stage that can be used to find and take advantage of vulnerabilities in the online applications. This phase’s objective is to detect any sensitive data, suchasapplication technology,usernames, version information,hardcodeddata,etc.,that may be useful during the testing phases that follow.

5. Scanning Toidentifyrecurringproblemsinthethickclient software, we employ a proprietary method. For our expertstoinvestigatethetoolalsoliststhe thick client’snetworkcommunication,inter process communication, operating system interactions,andother activities. Vulnerabilityidentificationandassessment The list of all targets and apps that fall under the scope of the vulnerability analysis phase will be compiled at both the network layer and the application layer. Our experts examine the setup of your thick client, detecting both issues with the default configuration and potential methods the application could be set up to avoid security measures. Exploitation All potential vulnerabilities found in the earlier stages of the assessment will be subjected to this phase’s effort to exploit them like an attacker would. Businesslogicproblems,bypassesfor

6. authenticationandauthorization,directobject references, parameter manipulation, and session managementareall included inthis.Themajority of thick clients make use of some server-side capability, and all thick clients or central data storagemaybeimpactedbyaserver-side vulnerabilitythatis successfullyexploited. • Need Penetration Testing for Thick Client Applications? • Regardless of whether your thick client application is hosted internally or in a virtualized environment,ElanusTechnologiesevaluatesit. • When conductingsecurityassessments forthick • client applications, we look at best practices for authorization and authentication as well as data storage and communication pathways. To assess your application, we use manual and automated pen-testing procedures using paid, free, and open-sourcecybersecurity. • WeatElanusTechnologiesspecializeinthick client applicationsecurity,including: • StaticAnalysis:Tofind potential flaws and • vulnerabilitiesin theapplication’ssourcecode

7. without actually running it, our professionals usecutting-edgemethods. • Dynamicanalysis:Tofind anyflawsor weaknesses in the functionality of the application, our specialists run the application andexamineitsbehaviorwhileitoperates. • Penetration testing: During this process, we mimicareal-worldassaultontheapplication • in order to find and exploit vulnerabilities and provide a comprehensive evaluation of its securityposture. • Review of Configuration: Our team of specialistsexaminestheconfigurationofthe applicationandsuggestsmodificationsto • increasetheapplication’sgeneralsecurity. • NetworkTrafficAnalysis:Todiscover and reducepotentialsecurityconcerns,our • professionals track and examine network traffic. Security Code Review: Our team of professionals examines the application’s sourcecodeforsecurityflaws,findingany potentialproblemsand offeringsolutions. • Thick client applicationsecuritydescribesthe steps required tosafeguard thickclient applications,whicharecomputeror device

8. software applications that run on end users' computers or other devices and demand a lot of resources and processing power. These programs frequentlyworkwithsensitivedataandareopen to many forms of assault, such as malware, phishing, and hacking. We have expertise of conducting Thick Client Application Security Testingon client-serverapplicationsadopting proven methods andtechnology. Getintouchwithusfor moreinsights. https://blogs.elanustechnologies.com/thick- client-vapt-2/