Session hijacking is one of the most dangerous attacks a user can experience. The attacker hijacks users’ sessions and becomes capable of performing any kind of malicious activity impersonating users’ identity.
But how session hijacking becomes successful? What lacks in the security posture of web applications as attackers successfully compromise website’s security.
You will get all your questions answered as you read this blog that covers all the crucial information about session hijacking in a very clear and concise manner.
What is Session Hijacking and How it Works?
Session hijacking is a security attack where an attacker takes control of a user's active session on a web application or network. This typically involves stealing or anticipating a valid session token or cookie by enabling the attacker to simulate the user and access confidential details or perform unauthorized activities.
Session hijacking is done through methods like methods like packet sniffing on unsecured networks, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks that capture cookies, or session fixation, where an attacker sets a known session ID. Once the attacker has the session ID, they can imitate user’s identity and obtain unauthorized access to confidential details and functionalities within web applications.
Examples of Attack Hijacking
Let’s check out the real-time examples of session hijacking attacks.
1. Facebook and Instagram (2018)
Attackers exploited XSS vulnerabilities to steal session IDs, allowing unauthorized access to user accounts.
2. PayPal Phishing Attack (2020)
In this attack incident, users were tricked into entering credentials on a fake PayPal page, enabling attackers to capture session tokens and take over accounts.
3. Slack (2017)
In 2017 Slack attack, security researcher Frans Rosén found a vulnerability in Slack that allowed attackers to hijack session cookies through fake redirects, giving them access to all shared data within Slack.
Types of Session Hijacking Attacks
Here are the key types of session hijacking attacks.
- Session Fixation
- Cookie Theft
- Man in the Middle Attack
- Packet Sniffing
- Cross-Site Request Forgery
- Replay Attacks
Proven Session Hijacking Prevention Tips
Check out the proven session hijacking prevention tips to safeguard your web apps from its impact.
1. Enforce Session Timeouts
Use short session timeouts to automatically log users out after periods of inactivity, reducing the risk of hijacking.
2. Regenerate Session IDs
Change session IDs upon user login and periodically during the session to prevent session fixation attacks.
3. Use HTTPS
Ensure all data transmitted between users and your server is encrypted using HTTPS to prevent interception.
4. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP)
Use CSP to restrict sources from which scripts can be loaded, this helps to prevent XSS attacks.
5. Monitor Users’ Activities
Monitor and examine user behavior and their actions for anomalies, such as logins from unusual locations, to look for potential hijacking.
6. Limit Session Scope
Store minimal confidential information in session data and avoid storing sensitive data in cookies.
Wrapping Words
Session hijacking is capable of causing notable damage to organization’s reputation. Because if session hijacking is successful, attackers are free to perform unauthorized actions and malicious activities impersonating users’ identities, and it directly affects the goodwill of the business.
We hope the insights in this blog will help you safeguard your web applications from session hijacking attacks.
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