September 18, 2024 at 08:24AM
CISA and the FBI issued a Secure by Design alert highlighting the prevalence of cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. They urge organizations to eliminate XSS flaws by validating and sanitizing user input, implementing additional security measures, conducting code reviews, and using modern web frameworks. The agencies also recommend implementing secure by design principles and taking the Secure by Design Pledge to demonstrate commitment to product security.
Based on the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
1. The US cybersecurity agency CISA and the FBI have issued a Secure by Design alert highlighting the prevalence of cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.
2. XSS vulnerabilities exist due to improper validation, sanitization, or escaping of user input, which can lead to data manipulation, theft, or misuse.
3. Developers are urged to employ input sanitization techniques and reinforce them with additional security measures to prevent XSS vulnerabilities.
4. Organizations are advised to review and eliminate instances of these defects and implement plans to prevent them in their products.
5. Recommendations include reviewing threat models, validating input for structure and meaning, conducting code reviews, implementing adversarial product testing, and using modern web frameworks that ensure proper escaping or quoting.
6. Senior executives and business leaders are advised to ask their teams how they are working to eliminate these defects and whether they are implementing a secure by design approach in their products.
7. Organizations are encouraged to implement three secure by design principles to protect their products from XSS exploits: taking ownership of customer security outcomes, embracing radical transparency and accountability, and building organizational structure and leadership to achieve these goals.
8. Software manufacturers are urged to consider taking the Secure by Design Pledge, which outlines seven key goals including reducing systemic classes of vulnerability like cross-site scripting.
These takeaways emphasize the urgency of addressing XSS vulnerabilities, the importance of proper input validation and security measures, and the need for organizational commitment to secure by design principles.