Week 8: 🔐 Implementing ZAP Active Scans in MIRA

Following our previous blog on ZAP passive scanning, this post delves into ZAP active scanning. We will discuss what active scanning is, its importance, and how we implement it in MIRA to ensure robust cybersecurity assessments.

What is ZAP Active Scanning?

ZAP active scanning involves actively probing and interacting with the target application to identify security vulnerabilities.

Key Features:

• 🔎 Comprehensive Probing: Sends requests and payloads to test for vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and more.
• 🧪 Simulates Real-World Attacks: Identifies weaknesses by actively engaging with the application.

Why is Active Scanning Important?

Benefits of Active Scanning:

1. 🛠️ Comprehensive Testing:
   • Detects vulnerabilities that might be missed by passive scanning.
2. 🔐 Proactive Security:
   • Actively tests the application’s defenses, ensuring real-world readiness.
3. 📋 Detailed Insights:
   • Provides thorough reports on potential security risks and recommendations.

Why We Chose ZAP for Active Scanning

ZAP’s active scanning capabilities are trusted and widely supported by the security community. Its ease of integration with MIRA and detailed reporting features make it an ideal choice.

Key Advantages:

• 🤝 Seamless Integration: Works flawlessly with MIRA’s existing architecture.
• 🌟 Community Support: Backed by a strong and active user base.
• 📊 Rich Reporting: Offers actionable insights to address vulnerabilities.

Step-by-Step Process for Active Scanning

1. Input URL in Chatbot 📝

• The user provides the target URL, compliance standard, and scan type (active).

2. API Request Handling 🔗

• The chatbot sends an API request to the backend with the entered information.

3. Controller Handling ⚙️

• The zapController.ts file processes the request and calls the baselineScanService function with the target URL and scan type.

4. Executing Active Scan 🐳

• The baselineScanService.ts file:
  • Sets up the Docker command for ZAP active scanning.
  • Executes the scan in a Docker container, actively probing the application for vulnerabilities.

5. Processing Results 📄

• The JSON report generated by the scan is processed.
• CWE IDs are mapped to CVE IDs, and compliance data is enriched for better insights.

6. Returning Results 💾

• The processed results are sent back to the controller, which forwards them to the chatbot.

7. Chatbot Response 💬

• The chatbot displays the scan results to the user in an easy-to-understand format.

✨ What’s Next: Report Generation

🚀 Our next step is enhancing report generation for ZAP scan results. This includes:

1. 📄 Vulnerability Reports:

   • Comprehensive reports that detail identified vulnerabilities, their severity, and remediation steps.

2. 💬 Chat Summaries:

   • User-friendly overviews of the security assessments, summarized from chatbot interactions.

Stay tuned as we continue to refine MIRA and elevate its cybersecurity assessment capabilities!

⚙️ Together, let’s innovate, impact, and inspire.