White box penetration testing is a complex security test that aims to uncover as much information as possible about the functioning of your applications and systems.
It gives the tester complete control of the targeted code so they can cautiously examine its logic and functions, unlike in black box testing, where the tester is provided with almost no information on the target. The tester then identifies vulnerabilities in the system.
White box testing helps preventatively identify security threats that organizations can fix to prevent them from advancing and threatening the leakage of crucial information, straining the credibility of the brand, and ensuring compliance with their industry’s regulations.
White Box vs. Black Box vs. Grey Box Pentesting
The main difference between a black box test and a white box test is the tester’s level of knowledge about the target.
In a white box test, the tester has significant knowledge about the target, including aspects of the application’s architecture and implementation that may not be known to the software’s developers.
In a black box test, the tester is left to discover and exploit vulnerabilities independently, with no prior knowledge of the target.
A gray box test is a hybrid between black and white box tests. The tester is somewhat knowledgeable about the program’s architecture, design, and implementation. However, the tester’s limited knowledge can be out-of-date or misleading.
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- We’re the only company that combines automated & manual pentest to create a one-of-a-kind pentest platform.
- Vetted scans ensure zero false positives.
- Our intelligent vulnerability scanner emulates hacker behavior & evolves with every pentest.
- Astra’s scanner helps you shift left by integrating with your CI/CD.
- Our platform helps you uncover, manage & fix vulnerabilities in one place.
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Penetration testing is an essential component of a comprehensive security strategy. Penetration testing should be one of the techniques used to test a secure application. Other techniques include static analysis and dynamic analysis.
| S No. | Black Box Penetration Testing | Gray Box Penetration Testing | White Box Penetration Testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little or No knowledge of network and infrastructure is required. | Somewhat knowledge of the Infrastructure, internal codebase and architecture. | Complete access to organization infrastructure, network and codebase. |
| 2 | Black box testing is also known as closed box testing. | Gray box testing is also known as translucent testing. | White box testing is known as clear box testing. |
| 3 | No syntactic knowledge of the programming language is required. | Requires partial understanding of the programming language. | Requires high understanding of programming language. |
| 4 | Black box testing techniques are executed by developers, user groups and testers. | Performed by third party services or by testers and developers. | The internal Development team of the organization can perform white box testing. |
| 5 | Some standard black box testing techniques are: Boundary value analysis, Equivalence partitioning, Graph-Based testing etc. | Some standard gray box testing techniques are Matrix testing, Regression testing, Orthogonal array testing, Pattern testing. | Some standard white box testing techniques are Branch testing, Decision coverage, Path testing, Statement coverage. |
Benefits of White Box Penetration Testing
A white-box penetration test conducted well can help you avoid errors in the testing process that might expose it to hackers. White-box penetration testing involves more clarity and detail than black-box testing.
It is also known as clear-box testing or structural testing. White-box testing is conducted once the source code is compiled, examining the software’s logical design or internal organization.
In contrast, black-box tests check the application’s functionality rather than its underlying workings.
1. Less Time Consuming
To analyze a system, the tester must understand how it works internally and what it is supposed to do. All the information collected in white-box tests can help you write test cases with more ease and detail.
This is because white-box testing uses strategies like focused testing, early bug demonstrations, code optimization, and automation. Code optimization can improve performance and reduce resource consumption, while automation can significantly reduce the time and effort required for testing.
2. Extensive Testing
White-box testing is based on analyzing the software’s code, enabling the tester to determine each function’s entry and exit points.
It uses information about the code structure, which can be found in the design documents, programming language specifications, source code, programmer’s comments, UML diagrams, object models, or high-level language models, making white box penetration testing more extensive.
3. Early Detection
SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) has evolved from the past to the present, helping companies develop better software.
White-box penetration testing is conducted in the beginning portion of the software development life cycle (SDLC) to identify vulnerabilities promptly, even before the program is made available to customers or users.
Disadvantages of White Box Testing
1. Limited Mindset of the Tester
White-box testing is inefficient because when the tester knows the application’s internal structure, he tends to test it inefficiently and will do things that do not adequately cover the application.
For instance, a tester familiar with the code might think a particular function is secure because of its design. However, an attacker who does not have this assumption could always devise a method to take advantage of a flaw in the function’s code.
2. Requires More Programming Knowledge
When performing a white-box penetration test, the tester needs to be familiar with critical programming tasks because this type of penetration test involves testing the internal network.
The tester should at least be familiar with performing port scanning, SQL injection, and other common attacks to understand the potential access points better.
It is one small security loophole v/s your entire website or web application.
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White Box Testing Techniques
1. Statement Coverage
Statements are the parts of a program that enable it to run. Testing the program’s structure can ensure that the program is built logically and that the logic is correct.
2. Decision Coverage
The program is a set of decisions, and a decision is a condition that a certain condition is true or false. To be more specific, a decision can compare a variable against a constant or a variable against another variable. By testing the decisions in a program, you can ensure that the decisions are correct.
3. Path Coverage
A path is a way to reach a particular location in a program. In path coverage, the program is tested from start to finish on all possible paths. In other words, if a program has five decisions and five paths, the program is tested from start to finish using all possible paths.
How to Perform White-Box Penetration Testing
1. Obtain Source Code: Obtain the application’s executable code undergoing the testing process. This is crucial for the tester to comprehend how the system is implemented and detect its vulnerabilities.
2. Analyze Code Structure: Check the code for known weaknesses; for example:
- Input validation: Sanitize all user data to avoid injection attacks.
- Error handling: See how errors are managed to ensure that users’ information is not leaked.
- Session management: Assess the session and cookie security and how the application deals with session expiry.
- Third-party components: Check the potential external risks linked to sources used by the application, such as libraries and frameworks.
3. Utilize Static Analysis Tools: Use scripters to parse through the code and check for some of the standard threats and points of weakness.
4. Conduct Dynamic Analysis: Run the application under the debugger and, during runtime, try to find new and more significant vulnerabilities, which usually go unnoticed while testing the program through static analysis. These can range from mimicking attackers to inspecting how an application reacts.
5. Document Findings: Log all the identified vulnerabilities throughout the testing process and the nature, location, intensity, or impact with which they were observed.
6. Provide Recommendations: Provide prescriptive actions to mitigate the risk factors stated above, such as changes one can make to the code or system configuration.
Standard Tools Used in White Box Penetration Testing
Penetration testers often use many tools to perform penetration tests. The toolset a penetration tester uses is usually called the “toolbox”.
Some common tools/libraries used to perform white-box penetration testing are:
- Metasploit
- Nmap
- PyTest
- NUnit
- John the Ripper
- Wireshark
White Box Penetration Testing by Astra
Key Features:
- Platform: SaaS
- Pentest Capabilities: Continuous automated scans with 10,000+ tests and manual pentests
- Accuracy: Zero false positives (with vetted scans)
- Compliance Scanning: OWASP, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO27001, and SOC2
- Expert Remediation Assistance: Yes
- Publicly Verifiable Pentest Certification: Yes
- Workflow Integration: Slack, JIRA, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, and more
- Price: Starting at $1999/yr
Astra Security is a leading IT security firm that offers a full suite of penetration testing services to help businesses increase their security and prevent data loss. In addition to white box penetration testing, we also offer gray box testing and VAPT for cloud infrastructures, mobile apps, web apps, networks, and APIs.
Astra’s vulnerability scanner conducts over 10,000 tests, including security control checks, static and dynamic code analysis, and business logic testing, to find zero-day vulnerabilities.
Final Thoughts
White box penetration testing is more efficient than black box testing owing to the element of manual analysis combined with knowledge of the system’s internal functioning. This means that testers must know how the target system works to identify weaknesses that would have otherwise gone unseen.
This is a crucial component of securing your system as it forms a layered security solution that enables the recognition of loopholes that the wrong people could exploit.
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FAQ
1. When should I perform white box penetration testing?
White box testing is used when a program’s source code is available and when an organization wants to determine a specific type of risk or vulnerability. It assists in evaluating security measures and helps an organization conform to a particular benchmark.
2. What is “white box” in white box penetration testing?
“White box” in white box pentesting essentially means that the tester has access to the internal structure of the system as well as code and design documents, for example. This contrasts the black box testing approach, in which the system is considered a black box and little to no information is provided.
3. What is a real-life example of white box testing?
White box testing can best be described by the example of a security engineer assigned the crucial job of evaluating the security standard of an e-commerce website. They test for insecure password storage, lack of input validation, and ineffective error handling, among other things.
