Software & Data Integrity Failures: OWASP Top 10 Security Quiz Quiz

Explore key vulnerabilities addressed in the OWASP Top 10 by assessing your understanding of software and data integrity failures, secure deployment practices, and preventive controls. This quiz helps you recognize risks and best practices essential for maintaining secure software systems.

1. Untrusted Software Components

   Which scenario best illustrates a software and data integrity failure related to using untrusted components?

   1. A developer downloads and integrates a third-party library from an unofficial source without verifying its authenticity.
   2. An application is slow because of inefficient database queries.
   3. A user forgets to log out from a shared computer.
   4. An application displays an error message when input exceeds character limits.

   Explanation: The correct answer is using untrusted third-party software, which can introduce malicious code or vulnerabilities and lead to integrity failures. Slow queries (option B) relate to performance, not security. Forgetting to log out (option C) is an authentication concern, not integrity. Error messages (option D) pertain to input validation, not the use of trusted components.

2. Insecure CI/CD Pipelines

   Why is an insecure Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline considered a potential source of software and data integrity failure?

   1. It may automatically deploy untested changes from compromised sources.
   2. It always ensures high performance of deployed applications.
   3. It guarantees all dependencies are free from vulnerabilities.
   4. It only affects the graphical interface of applications.

   Explanation: An insecure CI/CD pipeline may deploy code from untrusted or malicious sources, leading to vulnerabilities in production. Ensuring high performance (option B) is unrelated to integrity failures. While dependency management is important, no pipeline can guarantee all dependencies are vulnerability-free (option C). The graphical interface impact (option D) is not specific to integrity issues.

3. Trust Boundaries in Data Exchange

   When a web application exchanges sensitive configuration files with external services, what security measure helps prevent software and data integrity failures?

   1. Implementing cryptographic signatures to verify file authenticity before processing
   2. Adding more logging to the application
   3. Using only the default configuration settings
   4. Allowing unrestricted file uploads from users

   Explanation: Cryptographic signatures ensure files exchanged with external services are authentic and unaltered, directly protecting against integrity failures. Logging (option B) is useful for monitoring but does not enforce integrity. Default configurations (option C) may be insecure and are not sufficient. Unrestricted file uploads (option D) can introduce further risk rather than mitigate it.

4. Package Manager Security

   How can attackers exploit insecure software package manager configurations to cause data integrity failures in an application?

   1. By injecting malicious packages through dependency confusion attacks
   2. By requesting password resets via email
   3. By overwriting application images on the server manually
   4. By changing the color scheme of the application's user interface

   Explanation: Dependency confusion attacks can introduce unauthorized or malicious packages if the package manager is not securely configured, leading to compromised integrity. Email-based password resets (option B) are related to account management. Manual image overwrites (option C) do not exploit package managers. Changing the user interface colors (option D) does not compromise data integrity.

5. Primary Control for Integrity Threats

   What is the most effective primary control to mitigate software and data integrity failures stemming from insecure software supply chains?

   1. Strictly enforcing code and configuration signing for all updates
   2. Allowing anonymous edits to code repositories
   3. Disabling all security warnings in the application
   4. Delaying security updates until a major platform release

   Explanation: Enforcing digital signatures ensures that only verified, authorized code and configurations are deployed, greatly reducing integrity failures. Allowing anonymous edits (option B) exposes supply chains to untrusted changes. Disabling warnings (option C) decreases security awareness. Delaying updates (option D) leaves systems exposed to known risks for longer.