Advanced C#, ASP.NET and Web Application Security

Beyond solid knowledge in using various security features of .NET and ASP.NET, even for experienced programmers it is essential to have a deep knowledge in web-related vulnerabilities both on server and client side along with the consequences of the various risks.

In this course the general web-based vulnerabilities are demonstrated through presenting the relevant attacks, while the recommended coding techniques and mitigation methods are explained in the context of ASP.NET. A special focus is given to client-side security tackling security issues of JavaScript, Ajax and HTML5.

The course also deals with the security architecture and components of the .NET framework, including code- and role based access control, permission declaration and checking mechanisms and the transparency model. A brief introduction to the foundations of cryptography provides a common practical baseline for understanding the purpose and the operation of various algorithms, based on which the course presents the cryptographic features that can be used in .NET.

Introduction of different security bugs follows the well-established vulnerability categories, tackling input validation, security features, error handling, time- and state-related problems, the group of general code quality issues, and a special section on ASP.NET-specific vulnerabilities. These topics are concluded with an overview on testing tools that can be used to automatically reveal some of the learnt bugs.

Topics are presented through practical exercises where participants can try out the consequences of certain vulnerabilities, the mitigations, as well as the discussed APIs and tools for themselves.