Why Template-Based Scanning Is Gaining Popularity Among Enterprise Security Teams

Meanwhile, it is a fact that template-based scanning gained popularity among security teams as it is an easy, fast way to perform web security audits...

We are going to cover the 3 main benefits of this automated scan type and, by the end of this article, also help you set up your solution using Nova Security's built-in template-based scanner: WAYPOINTS.

Template-based scanning is the art of scanning your network at scale, with high accuracy for predefined security rules and handling flagged findings accordingly.

Security rules are a set of matches that can help you define when a scanner should mark a finding as vulnerable.

Here is an example of a WAYPOINTS template that looks for and validates an SQL Injection on a non-authenticated API endpoint:

Table Of Contents:

1. Versatility
2. Scale
3. Low-cost, High-ROI

Versatility:

Most template-based scanners are versatile, supporting a broad spectrum of protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, FTP, among others. They offer the flexibility to customize various aspects of a request, from selecting the HTTP method to defining additional request headers to provide support for authenticated scanning.

The power of template-based scanners lies in their scan matchers—the rules that identify and flag findings as potential vulnerabilities. These matchers can be applied to any element of an HTTP response, such as status codes, response times, headers, and body content. Our in-house scanner, WAYPOINTS even extends to validating out-of-band (OOB) interactions, a crucial component of Out-Of-Band Application Security Testing (OAST).

To further enhance accuracy, these matcher rules can be configured to match against a specific value, a range, or a regex pattern. This customization helps in effectively filtering out false positives and negatives, thereby ensuring more reliable security scanning results.

Scale:

Given that most templates direct the scanner to send a single request, the process of scanning your entire network and all your web assets can be completed in just a few minutes.

To further improve the scanning process, you can leverage concurrency and multi-threaded operations. WAYPOINTS, for instance, supports multi-threaded scans by default, but also provides the option to specify a delay and impose a rate limit. This feature ensures a more accurate scanning process by preventing the system from being overwhelmed with too many simultaneous requests.

Another method to reduce the overall number of requests sent is by grouping templates together in batches. However, while this approach can enhance efficiency, it may potentially compromise the accuracy of the scan results

Low-Cost, High-ROI:

The cost-effectiveness that comes with template-based scanning makes it an attractive solution for enterprises seeking to evaluate their entire network without incurring substantial upfront investments as computing resources are limited by nature.

In fact, the cost of a single scan across a thousand hosts can be as low as a few dollars, depending on the specific computing resources allocated to the task. This affordability, coupled with the potential to uncover critical vulnerabilities, results in a high return on investment (ROI) for businesses of all sizes.

What's WAYPOINTS?

WAYPOINTS is our in-house template-based scanner. It's fully managed and we offer you the scan rules to use.

WAYPOINTS comes with a public library of scan rules that we maintain daily to ensure that you're always prepared to address emerging security vulnerabilities and the latest CVEs, such as Log4J, WordPress Plugins, Ivanti SSL VPN, and many more!

By combining WAYPOINTS' robust scanning capabilities with recurring web security audits, you can significantly enhance your organization's current security processes and always stay one step ahead of potential security threats.