💻 OffSec Certified Web Expert (OSWE)
The OSWE is an advanced web penetration testing credential issued by OffSec. It validates a researcher’s capability to perform deep white-box source code auditing of web applications (including PHP, Node.js, C#, and Java), identify logical and syntax flaws, and write full Python scripts to chain them together into Remote Code Execution (RCE).
📋 Exam Specifications
- Format: 48-hour practical proctored code-auditing exam.
- Reporting: 24 hours post-exam to supply a complete, professional report detailing vulnerability chains and attaching working exploit automation scripts.
- Passing Criteria: Obtain 70 points out of 100.
- Exam Targets: Multiple complex web application instances with access to their underlying source code files.
🛠️ Core Skills Validated
- White-Box Code Auditing: Manually reviewing application source files (JavaScript, C# .NET, PHP, Java) to trace execution paths and locate hidden logical errors.
- Vulnerability Chaining: Combining multiple low-severity issues (e.g. CSRF + local file read + variable override) to construct a high-impact exploit.
- Exploit Automation: Writing robust, multi-threaded Python scripts that automate the entire exploitation flow, bypassing filters and headers to spawn a reverse shell.
- Advanced Injection Attacks: Crafting payloads for Server-Side Template Injections (SSTI), XML External Entity (XXE) execution, and second-order SQL injections.
- Insecure Deserialization: Auditing serialization structures in Java (e.g. ysoserial) and C# (.NET Object Injection) to execute arbitrary commands.