SQL injection attacks countermeasures assessments

Abstract

SQL injections attacks have been rated as the most dangerous vulnerability of web-based systems over more than a decade by OWASP top ten. Though different static, runtime and hybrid approaches have been proposed to counter SQL injection attacks, no single approach guarantees flawless prevention/ detection for these attacks. Hundreds of components of open source and commercial software products are reported to be vulnerable for SQL injection to CVE repository every year. In this mapping study, we identify different existing approaches in terms of the cost of computation and protection offered. We found that most of the existing techniques claim to offer protection based on the testing on a very small or limited scale. This study dissects each proposed approach and highlights their strengths and weaknesses and categorizes them based on the underlying technology used to detect or counter the injection attacks.