19 Deadly Sins of Software Security: Programming Flaws and How to Fix Them (Security One-off) [Paperback]

Michael Howard (Author), David LeBlanc (Author), John Viega (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072260858 | ISBN-13: 978-0072260854 | Publication Date: July 26, 2005 | Edition: 1

This essential book for all software developers--regardless of platform, language, or type of application--outlines the “19 deadly sins” of software security and shows how to fix each one. Best-selling authors Michael Howard and David LeBlanc, who teach Microsoft employees how to secure code, have partnered with John Viega, the man who uncovered the 19 deadly programming sins to write this much-needed book. Coverage includes:

• Windows, UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X
• C, C++, C#, Java, PHP, Perl, and Visual Basic
• Web, small client, and smart-client applications

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“Ninety-five percent of software bugs are caused by the same 19 programming flaws.” —Amit Yoran, Former Director of The Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division

Secure your software by eliminating code vulnerabilities from the start. This essential book for all software developers--regardless of platform, language, and type of application--outlines the 19 sins of software security and shows how to fix each one. Best-selling authors Michael Howard and David LeBlanc, who teach Microsoft employees how to write secure code, have partnered with John Viega, the man who uncovered the 19 deadly programming sins to write this hands-on guide. Detailed code examples throughout show the code defects as well as the fixes and defenses. If you write code, you need this book. Eliminate these security flaws from your code:

• Buffer overruns
• Format string problems
• Integer overflows
• SQL injection
• Command injection
• Failure to handle errors
• Cross-site scripting
• Failure to protect network traffic
• Use of magic URLs and hidden forms
• Improper use of SSL
• Use of weak password-based systems
• Failure to store and protect data securely
• Information leakage
• Trusting network address resolution
• Improper file access
• Race conditions
• Unauthenticated key exchange
• Failure to use cryptographically strong random numbers
• Poor usability

Michael Howard, CISSP, is an architect of the security process changes at Microsoft and a co-author of Processes to Produce Secure Software published by the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division. He is a Senior Security Program Manager in the Security Engineering Group at Microsoft Corporation and co-author of Writing Secure Code (Microsoft Press). David LeBlanc, Ph.D., is Chief Software Architect for Webroot Software, and was formerly Security Architect in the Office group at Microsoft. He is co-author of Writing Secure Code. John Viega is the CTO of Secure Software. He first defined the 19 deadly sins of software security for the Department of Homeland Security. He is co-author of many security books including Building Secure Software (Addison-Wesley).

About the Author

Michael Howard is a senior security program manager in the security engineering group at Microsoft Corporation, and a co-author of the award-winning Writing Secure Code. He is a co-author of Basic Training in IEEE Security and Privacy Magazine and a co-author of the National Cyber Security Task Force “Processes to produce Secure Software” document for the Department of Homeland Security. As an author of the Security Development Lifecycle, Michael spends most of his time is spent defining and enforcing security best practice and software development process improvements to deliver more secure software to normal humans.

David LeBlanc, Ph.D., is currently Chief Software Architect for Webroot Software. Prior to joining Webroot, he served as security architect for Microsoft's Office division, was a founding member of the Trustworthy Computing Initiative, and worked as a white-hat hacker in Microsoft's network security group. David is also co-author of Writing Secure Code and Assessing Network Security, as well as numerous articles. On good days, he'll be found riding the trails on his horse with his wife, Jennifer.

John Viega discovered the 19 deadly programming flaws that received such press and media attention, and this book is based on his discovery. He is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Secure Software(www.securesoftware.com), is a well-known security expert, and coauthor of Building Secure Software (Addison-Wesley), Network Security with OpenSSL (O'Reilly) an Adjuct Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) and Senior Policy Researcher at the Cyberspace Policy Institute, and he serves on the Technical Advisory Board for the Open Web Applications Security Project. He also founded a Washington, D.C. area security interest group that conducts monthly lectures presented by leading experts in the field. John is responsible for numerous software security tools, and is the original author of Mailman, the GNU mailing list manager. He holds a B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia. He is the author or coauthor of nearly 80 technical publications, including numerous refered research papers and trade articles. He is coauthor of Building Secure Software, Network Security and Cryptography with OpenSSL and The Secure Programming Cookbook for C and C++.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072260858
• ISBN-13: 978-0072260854
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast read that addresses serious problems in a decent manner, November 1, 2006

By 

Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity" (Metro Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 19 Deadly Sins of Software Security: Programming Flaws and How to Fix Them (Security One-off) (Paperback)

I read six books on software security recently, namely "Writing Secure Code, 2nd Ed" by Michael Howard and David LeBlanc; "19 Deadly Sins of Software Security" by Michael Howard, David LeBlanc, and John Viega; "Software Security" by Gary McGraw; "The Security Development Lifecycle" by Michael Howard and Steve Lipner; "High-Assurance Design" by Cliff Berg; and "Security Patterns" by Markus Schumacher, et al. Each book takes a different approach to the software security problem, although the first two focus on coding bugs and flaws; the second two examine development processes; and the last two discuss practices or patterns for improved design and implementation. My favorite of the six is Gary McGraw's, thanks to his clear thinking and logical analysis. The other five are still noteworthy books. All six will contribute to the
production of more security software.

The main reason to read 19DS is to quickly become acquainted with various security problems facing software developers. At less than 300 pages, it's not a thick tome like WSC2E. 19DS also is not afraid to mix bugs (coding errors, like buffer overflow conditions) with flaws (design problems, like "failing to protect network traffic.") This sort of lax categorization bothers me (and Gary McGraw, as noted in his book "Software Security"), but it shouldn't interfere with the quality content of 19DS.

Probably the most interesting aspect (to me) of 19DS was sin 10, which discussed problems with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The chapter didn't describe algorithmic or protocol problems. Instead, it explained how programmers make poor assumptions about the features provided by their language of choice with respect to SSL. For example, many SSL libraries do not properly validate certificates. Without this functionality, the authors argue that SSL is almost worthless. While I don't necessarily agree with this statement, I really like reading this sort of criticism. I'd like to note that p 134 berates Python's ssl() but ignores pyOpenSSL, which probably provides the features the authors would want.

Other "sins" take slightly different looks at security issues. Sin 17, for example, explains the importance of key exchange AND authentication. These are the sorts of problems I imagine are only discovered by examining multiple real-world implementations, and I value the authors sharing their experiences.

I subtracted one star because the quality of the "sins" isn't even. Some don't adequately explain the problem at hand (e.g., integer overflows). If the authors assume the reader knows the problem well enough to not introduce it properly, then why discuss it at all?

Overall, however, 19DS is a great book to get to your developers. It's short enough that they might actually read it, and the content is presented in a convincing enough manner to perhaps influence their coding choices.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for software developers, February 1, 2006

By 

Ben Rothke "Author of 'Computer Security: 20 ... (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 19 Deadly Sins of Software Security: Programming Flaws and How to Fix Them (Security One-off) (Paperback)

If George Santayana were to recommend a security book, it would certainly be 19 Deadly Sins of Software Security. Santayana is the poet-philosopher widely known for saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." For far too long, software developers have been making the same mistakes in programming as if they were incapable of remembering their past errors.

Poorly written software lies behind nearly every computer security vulnerability. Amit Yoran, former director of the National Cyber Security Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is quoted as saying that "95 percent of software bugs are caused by the same 19 programming flaws." These flaws are the so-called "deadly sins" of the title.

The book covers these 19 programming flaws, which include the most devastating types of coding and architectural errors, such as buffer overflows, format string problems, cross-site scripting, and insufficient encryption. Each flaw gets its own chapter, which features a brief introduction to the problem, sample code depicting each "sin," ways to detect the problem during code review, a description of tools and techniques to test for the defect, and defensive measures that make it more difficult for someone to exploit the weakness.

None of the text is extraneous, as it economically addresses a wealth of the most popular platforms and languages. These include Windows, Linux, UNIX, C/C++, C#, Java, PERL, and more.

Software applications developers, irrespective of which platform or language they use to write code, should consider this book required reading. Were he a techie, Santayana might have said that those who have written insecure code in the past are condemned to continue to write insecure code in the future. Programmers need only read this book to help put an end to that vicious cycle.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another one of those "required" books to own and read..., September 3, 2005

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 19 Deadly Sins of Software Security: Programming Flaws and How to Fix Them (Security One-off) (Paperback)

With the continual alerts and patches for software vulnerabilities, it may appear that there is no way to write secure software. While I agree there are no "absolutes" when it comes to secure software, there are ways to greatly reduce your potential of writing software that can be exploited. 19 Deadly Sins Of Software Security - Programming Flaws and How To Fix Them by Michael Howard, David LeBlanc, and John Viega does an excellent job in helping you focus in on this subject...

Content: Buffer Overruns; Format String Problems; Integer Overflows; SQL Injection; Command Injection; Failing To Handle Errors; Cross-Site Scripting; Failing To Protect Network Traffic; Use Of Magic URLs And Hidden Form Fields; Improper Use Of SSL And TLS; Use Of Weak Password-Based Systems; Failing To Store And Protect Data Security; Information Leakage; Improper File Access; Trusting Network Name Resolution; Race Conditions; Unauthenticated Key Exchange; Cryptographically Strong Random Numbers; Poor Usability; Mapping The 19 Deadly Sins To The OWASP "Top Ten"; Summary Of Do's And Don'ts; Index

This book came out of a list developed by Homeland Security that declared that 95% of security issues in software came from 19 programming mistakes. What you read in these pages go into more detail about each of those issues, but in a very concise, practical, no-nonsense fashion. This is the type of information you'll need as a professional who needs to get a job done without wasting time on fluff and verbose writing. Each chapter covers one of the sins, and follows a standard format for the information. The subsections in each chapter are: Overview of the Sin; Affected Languages; The Sin Explained; Related Sins; Spotting the Sin Pattern; Spotting the Sin During Code Review; Testing Techniques to Find the Sin; Example Sins; Redemption Steps; Extra Defensive Measures; Other Resources; Summary. Since each chapter stands on its own, you can use this as a reference tool if you're having a particular issue to resolve, or you can read it cover to cover to get a good understanding of the security concerns you need to face when programming.

Just about every significant programming platform and language is covered somewhere in here (Windows, Unix, Linux, C, C++, C#, Java, PHP, Perl, etc.), so there's no real reason why nearly every developer won't take *something* away from their reading. And if you're writing software that will be exposed to usage outside your company, there is *no* reason to not have this book on your shelf. You'll get the core of what you should do very quickly, and you'll end up writing more secure software up front instead of issuing patch after patch after patch...