OWASP Top 10 2025 Training Course

A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
A02:2025 - Security Misconfiguration
A03:2025 - Software Supply Chain Failures
A04:2025 - Cryptographic Failures
A05:2025 - Injection
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
A09:2025 - Security Logging and Alerting Failures
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions

A01:2025 Broken Access Control - Access controls are mechanisms that enforce policies to ensure users cannot act beyond their intended permissions. Failures in this area typically result in unauthorised information disclosure, modification or destruction of data, or the execution of business functions outside of user limits.

A02:2025 Security Misconfiguration - Security misconfiguration occurs when a system, application, or cloud service is established incorrectly from a security standpoint, thereby creating exploitable vulnerabilities.

A03:2025 Software Supply Chain Failures - These failures refer to breakdowns or compromises in the processes of building, distributing, or updating software. They are frequently caused by vulnerabilities or malicious alterations in third-party code, tools, or other dependencies upon which the system relies.

A04:2025 Cryptographic Failures - In general, all data in transit should be encrypted at the transport layer (OSI layer 4). Historical obstacles such as CPU performance and private key/certificate management have largely been addressed by modern CPUs with instructions designed to accelerate encryption (e.g., AES support) and simplified key management services like LetsEncrypt.org. Major cloud providers also offer tightly integrated certificate management for their specific platforms. Beyond securing the transport layer, it is critical to determine which data requires encryption at rest and which data needs additional encryption in transit at the application layer (OSI layer 7). For instance, passwords, credit card numbers, health records, personal information, and business secrets require heightened protection, particularly if governed by privacy laws such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or standards like the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

A05:2025 Injection - An injection vulnerability is a system flaw that permits an attacker to insert malicious code or commands (such as SQL or shell code) into a program’s input fields. This tricks the system into executing the malicious input as if it were legitimate part of the system, potentially leading to severe consequences.

A06:2025 Insecure Design - Insecure design is a broad category representing various weaknesses, often described as “missing or ineffective control design.” It is distinct from other Top Ten risk categories, not as a source for all others, but as a foundational flaw. It is important to differentiate between insecure design and insecure implementation, as they have different root causes, occur at different stages of the development process, and require different remediation approaches. A secure design can still suffer from implementation defects leading to exploitable vulnerabilities. Conversely, an insecure design cannot be remediated by perfect implementation because the necessary security controls were never established to defend against specific attacks. A key factor contributing to insecure design is the lack of business risk profiling inherent in the software or system, resulting in an inability to determine the required level of security design.

A07:2025 Authentication Failures - This vulnerability exists when an attacker succeeds in tricking a system into recognising an invalid or incorrect user as legitimate.

A08:2025 Software or Data Integrity Failures - These failures relate to code and infrastructure that fails to protect against invalid or untrusted code or data being treated as trusted and valid. An example is an application relying on plugins, libraries, or modules from untrusted sources, repositories, or content delivery networks (CDNs). An insecure CI/CD pipeline that lacks software integrity checks can introduce risks of unauthorised access, malicious code, or system compromise. Another example is a CI/CD process that pulls code or artifacts from untrusted locations and/or does not verify them before use (e.g., by checking signatures or similar mechanisms).

A09:2025 Security Logging & Alerting Failures - Without adequate logging and monitoring, attacks and breaches cannot be effectively detected. Furthermore, without robust alerting, it becomes very difficult to respond quickly and effectively during a security incident. Insufficient logging, continuous monitoring, detection, and alerting capabilities hinder the initiation of active response measures.

A10:2025 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions - This occurs when software fails to prevent, detect, and respond to unusual and unpredictable situations, leading to crashes, unexpected behaviour, and potential vulnerabilities. This can involve one or more of the following deficiencies: the application does not prevent an unusual situation from occurring, it fails to identify the situation as it happens, and/or it responds poorly or not at all after the situation arises.

We will discuss and present practical aspects of:

Broken Access Control
- Practical examples of broken access controls
- Secure access control implementations and best practices

Security Misconfiguration
- Real-world examples of misconfigurations
- Steps to prevent misconfiguration, including the use of configuration management and automation tools

Cryptographic Failures
- Detailed analysis of cryptographic failures, such as weak encryption algorithms or improper key management
- The importance of strong cryptographic mechanisms, secure protocols (SSL/TLS), and examples of modern cryptography in web security

Injection Attacks
- Detailed breakdown of SQL, NoSQL, OS, and LDAP injection
- Mitigation techniques using prepared statements, parameterised queries, and input escaping

Insecure Design
- Exploration of design flaws that can lead to vulnerabilities, such as improper input validation
- Study of strategies for secure architecture and secure design principles

Authentication Failures
- Common authentication issues
- Secure authentication strategies, including multi-factor authentication and proper session handling

Software and Data Integrity Failures
- Focus on issues such as untrusted software updates and data tampering
- Safe update mechanisms and data integrity checks

Security Logging and Monitoring Failures
- The importance of logging security-relevant information and monitoring for suspicious activities
- Tools and practices for proper logging and real-time monitoring to detect breaches early