What is White Box Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing is one of the most effective ways of security testing network infrastructure. By hiring an ethical hacker or hacking team, you can test the robustness of your internal and external security posture by mimicking traditional hacking techniques.

White box penetration testing is a transparent process where your hacker knows everything about the target system they’re attacking. It can be highly effective for some businesses, though others prefer black or gray box testing, where there’s less prior knowledge.

In this guide, we’ll take you through what a white box pen test consists of, how it compares to other types of penetration testing, and why it might be a good choice for your cybersecurity needs.

What is a White Box Penetration Test?

White box penetration testing covers a series of techniques and cyberattacks that ethical hackers use to test an infrastructure’s security with full knowledge of their target and its code.

White box pen testing gives attackers complete access to systems and internal processes. It’s commonly used to ensure security is thoroughly assessed with clear roadmaps and logical flow.

For example, a company developing a new public app might choose white box pen testing to ensure testers leave no stone unturned.

How it Works

Before a clear box or white box penetration test, ethical hackers work closely with their clients to ascertain as much detail as possible about the systems they’re testing and attacking. For example, they typically need:

• Source code access/codebase details
• Network diagrams
• Architecture details
• API data
• Database information
• App and software data
• Firewall policies
• Application security standards in place
• Details on operating systems
• Server configurations
• Any relevant technical documentation
• Any relevant security controls or security measures already live

This is so attackers understand how their clients’ infrastructures work in practice. Mapping this all out helps testers determine which network areas need the most support and where vulnerabilities might exist.

With all this data at hand, a white box pen tester gets to work closely analyzing their clients’ networking and assessing potential areas of weakness. They also map out which tools to hack into certain areas and how to exploit them for data.

This type of penetration testing is the most thorough and is therefore preferred by business owners and operators who want complete assurance regarding their systems’ integrity.

Benefits of White Box Testing

White box penetration testing is often referred to as structural testing because it can help testers work to a specific structure and ensure that all facets of an infrastructure are thoroughly assessed. It’s a dynamic analysis with many moving parts.

Here are a few more reasons why business operators might invest in white box testing:

• It dives deep into code structure. Unlike other types of penetration testing, white box hacking revolves largely around internal code, meaning it often penetrates deeper than most.
• It’s technically less time-consuming than alternatives. Although white box pen testing is extensive, attackers have access to concrete information they can work with to run security assessments from the get-go. Exploration and reconnaissance are shorter because testers can get straight into testing with clear action plans.
• It can reveal more issues and potential vulnerabilities. White box testing helps business owners strengthen design features and general functionality. It doesn’t reveal just one or two key issues; instead, it considers the whole infrastructure.
• It can support more accurate internal threat simulations. Internal hackers will likely have extensive knowledge of their company’s resources, coding, and security policies. Therefore, white box pen-testers can emulate this closer with complete knowledge of their client’s setup.

However, white-box testing might not be appropriate for all businesses. For example, some operators might prefer a black box approach because it mimics outside cyber threats more closely (i.e., there’s no prior knowledge of code or setup).

White Box vs. Black Box vs. Gray Box Pen testing

When hiring penetration testing services, it’s good to consider various options. Let’s take a closer look at what black box penetration testing and gray box penetration testing involve and why they differ from white box strategies.

Black Box Penetration Testing

Black box penetration testing mimics hackers who are completely new to their attack targets. With this process, hackers look for security flaws by blindly planning, attacking, and recording security vulnerabilities they find.

This testing method is thought to be the most realistic of the three. Like white box testers, black box testers can model attack vectors from an internal network or outside a web application.

Gray Box Penetration Testing

As the name suggests, gray box penetration testing is the midpoint between white and black box techniques. Gray box pen tests are hybrid strategies—some tests might offer hackers knowledge of code, while others might mimic advanced persistent threats (APTs).

APTs are essentially more extended pen test scenarios that provide more information to the testers.

Many testers and operators prefer gray box models because they walk the line between the authenticity of black box testing and the depth of white box testing.

Comparison Table

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Steps to Performing a White Box Penetration Test

Although white box penetration testing will vary depending on precise methodology and attack vectors, here is a general roadmap of what to expect from testing techniques.

Let’s explore how a white box penetration tester might address code review, validation, and remediation steps.

Planning & Preparation

At the initial stage, testers liaise closely with developers and clients to discuss the scope of the testing operation. A code review or static code analysis usually takes place, and the infrastructure owner provides full access to application/network flow and credentials.

Identify Vulnerabilities

This is the discovery stage of a white box operation. Here, testers dive deeper into reconnaissance, using the details and roadmap provided by the client to access further details.

For example, testers might search for information regarding software versions and server patches and run general vulnerability scanning (which can be automated).

With this data, testers can now investigate potential vulnerabilities. They can look for immediate red flags suggesting weakness or a lack of security or note outdated software.

This helps attackers develop test cases, whether to focus on mobile application access or misconfigurations within a client’s internal structure.

Simulate Attacks

White box pen testers now test any infrastructure involved with a series of tools and techniques. This can include deploying simulated versions of common hacks such as:

• SQL injection
• Web app exploits
• Authentication attacks
• DDoS attacks
• Social engineering
• Brute-force and dictionary attacks

The precise tools and techniques used will depend on what testers learned from the source code and their investigations.

White box testers also use several common exploration techniques:

• Statement coverage analyzes a program’s logical structure.
• Decision coverage breaks down the decisions a program or structure makes.
• Branch coverage assesses branch codes.
• Path coverage traces how to get to a specific result in a program or structure.

Analyze and Assess Risks

After running tests and finding vulnerabilities, testers record and analyze their findings. Are there any glaring or significant concerns that require immediate attention?

Testers will, for instance, consider the severity of any problems that arise, the sensitivity of the business involved, and the specific data that’s at risk.

Report and Remediate Vulnerabilities

Testers now build reports that closely identify when, where, and to what extent vulnerabilities exist and what action they suggest operators take to remedy them.

Testers’ reports are straightforward and actionable, and many will grade weaknesses and risks so that clients know how to remedy specific problems and to what extent.

Clients use these reports to immediately fix pressing concerns and to influence future protection strategies. Operators should also understand that regular penetration testing is essential to stay ahead of evolving threats.

Common Tools Used in White Box Penetration Testing

White box pen testers use various specialized testing tools, such as software development platforms and automated tools, to help carry out controlled hacks.

For instance, they might use any of the following libraries and tools depending on the nature of a project:

• Nmap, or network mapper, scans network ports and IP addresses.
• PyTest, a framework that lets testers write easily scalable code.
• Wireshark, an analyzing tool that breaks down data packets and network traffic.
• Metasploit, an open-source tool frequently used by hackers to manipulate vulnerabilities.
• JUnit, a testing framework built for Java applications.

This is an example of the toolkit many ethical hackers use as part of an effective penetration testing setup.

Conclusion

Whether external or internal penetration testing, white box strategies can prove cost-effective, thorough, and insightful for many businesses of varying sizes.

To learn more about white box testing methodologies and how they could help your cybersecurity posture, contact the VikingCloud team for a chat with one of our security professionals.