Brute Force Detection Scanner
Tests rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms.
What is Brute Force Detection?
Brute Force Detection testing evaluates an application's defenses against automated password guessing attacks. This includes testing rate limiting effectiveness, account lockout policies, CAPTCHA implementation, IP-based blocking, and other mechanisms designed to prevent or slow down credential guessing attacks.
Why is This Important?
Without proper brute force protection, attackers can try millions of password combinations. Weak or missing protections enable credential stuffing, password spraying, and targeted brute force attacks. Even rate limiting can be bypassed through distributed attacks, IP rotation, or targeting multiple accounts.
How It Works
1. Auth Flow Analysis
Maps authentication mechanisms including login, registration, password reset, and session management flows.
2. Security Testing
Tests for authentication bypasses, weak credentials, session flaws, and token vulnerabilities.
3. Access Verification
Validates findings by demonstrating unauthorized access or privilege escalation paths.
Key Capabilities
Comprehensive authentication security testing to protect user accounts and prevent unauthorized access.
- Complete authentication flow analysis
- Token and session security validation
- Password policy and brute-force testing
- Multi-factor authentication bypass detection
- OAuth, SAML, and JWT security assessment
Frequently Asked Questions
What defenses should be in place?
Layered defenses include: rate limiting per IP and per account, progressive delays after failures, account lockout after threshold, CAPTCHA after suspicious activity, device fingerprinting, login anomaly detection, and breach password checking.
How do attackers bypass rate limiting?
Bypass techniques: distributed attacks across many IPs, rotating through proxy networks, targeting many accounts (staying under per-account limits), exploiting rate limit reset windows, using different endpoints (API vs web), and timing attacks to find reset windows.
What are the risks of aggressive lockout policies?
Overly aggressive lockout enables denial-of-service: attackers intentionally lock out legitimate users. Balance security with usability. Consider: temporary lockout with exponential backoff, CAPTCHA as alternative to lockout, and notification without lockout for known devices.
How should I test brute force protection?
Test: number of attempts before lockout, lockout duration, rate limit per IP vs per account, CAPTCHA triggering conditions, bypass via API endpoints, behavior with valid username vs invalid, lockout notification to users, and admin visibility into attacks.
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