A vulnerability known as Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) arises when a program neglects to implement appropriate access controls at the object level. In other words, a hacker can use the application to gain access to, change, or remove another user's data. Another name for this flaw is Insecure Direct Object Reference. (IDOR). Since BOLA can result in data breaches, financial losses, reputational harm, and legal obligations, it is a serious vulnerability. Numerous applications, including online applications, mobile applications, and APIs, are impacted by the numerous BOLA vulnerabilities. They are frequently brought on by subpar application design, insufficient testing, and a lack of developer security knowledge.

Numerous methods, such as parameter manipulation, URL tampering, and session hijacking, can be used to abuse BOLA. For instance, a hacker could alter a URL parameter to access another user's information or alter the value of a hidden entry to update another user's data. In order to obtain private data, they can also hijack an active session.

A strong security testing tool for web apps called Akto. By crawling the application and identifying the various inputs, forms, and functions, it simplifies the testing process. It then employs a variety of attacks against these sources to find security holes like BOLA. Python was used to create Akto, and you can use pip to install it as a Python program. The Akto server can be started and stopped, configured for your application, and subjected to a number of security checks using the command-line interface (CLI) that is included.

Additionally, Akto has a robust reporting function that creates thorough reports of the security tests carried out. The reports provide details on the discovered vulnerabilities, their level of seriousness, and fixes that should be applied. Overall, Akto is a potent security testing utility that can support you in locating vulnerabilities in your web application, such as BOLA. It manages complicated authentication and authorization methods, automates the testing process, and produces thorough reports of the security tests carried out.

In order to test for BOLA using Akto, you must first set up the tool, customise it for your application, run the tests, and then analyse the findings. Here is a basic description of what happens:

1. Install and set up Akto: The first step is to install Akto and set up its environment. You can install Akto using pip, and then start the Akto server using the CLI.

2. Configure Akto for your application: After starting the Akto server, you need to configure Akto for your web application. This involves specifying the target URL, authentication credentials, and other relevant settings. Akto can handle different authentication mechanisms, and you can configure it to use the appropriate method for your application.

3. Run the security tests: Once Akto is configured, you can run the security tests. Akto will crawl your web application and try various attacks against the inputs, forms, and functions. It will test for BOLA vulnerabilities by attempting to access or manipulate data that belongs to other users.

4. Interpret the results: After the security tests are completed, Akto generates a detailed report of the vulnerabilities detected. The report includes information about the severity of the vulnerabilities, recommendations for fixing them, and other relevant details. You can use the report to identify the vulnerabilities and take appropriate actions to fix them.

5. First, you need to set up Akto on your machine. Akto is a Python package that you can install using pip. Once installed, you can start the Akto server by running the following command:

    sqlCopy codeakto start
   

   This will start the Akto server on your machine, which you can access by visiting localhost:8888 in your web browser.

6. Step 2: Configure Akto

   Before you start testing, you need to configure Akto to use your target application. You can do this by creating a configuration file for your application. The configuration file specifies the target URL, the authentication method, and other details necessary for Akto to crawl and test your application. Here is an example configuration file for a simple web application:

    jsonCopy code{
      "url": "http://example.com",
      "auth": {
        "method": "form",
        "username": "admin",
        "password": "password"
      },
      "csrf": {
        "method": "form",
        "name": "csrf_token"
      }
    }
   

   In this example, Akto will crawl the URL example.com and use form-based authentication with the username "admin" and password "password." It will also handle CSRF protection by submitting the CSRF token in a form field named "csrf_token."

7. Step 3: Crawl the application

   Once you have configured Akto, you can start crawling your application by running the following command:

    Copy codeakto crawl
   

   This will initiate the crawling process and generate a sitemap of your application. Akto will discover all the inputs, forms, and functions of your application and map them to the sitemap. This process can take some time, depending on the size and complexity of your application.

8. You can start checking for BOLA after Akto has crawled your application by performing particular security tests. To find BOLA flaws, Akto can run the following security tests:

   Access control testing

   Input validation testing

   Enumeration testing

   Session management testing

   Authorization Testing

9. Interpret the Results.

   In order to guarantee the security and privacy of user data in web apps, testing for BOLA vulnerabilities is essential. With the aid of Akto, you can automate testing and find BOLA flaws in your application. You can use Akto to check for BOLA vulnerabilities and take the necessary actions to repair them by following the above-described steps. Although Akto is a strong instrument, manual testing and security knowledge are still necessary. It's crucial to conduct security testing in a thorough manner,