Ensuring security in system and application software

When developing a secure system design at the hardware level, it is important to follow through with a secure and verified design approach at all levels of the software architecture. We will next examine some of the ways that software code can introduce vulnerabilities into otherwise secure computer systems.

Common software weaknesses

This section lists several categories of software weaknesses that have traditionally caused severe security issues in operating systems, applications, and web servers. These vulnerabilities sometimes occur because software developers make assumptions about user behavior that turn out to be invalid. At other times, developers are simply unaware that particular software patterns lead to insecure designs.

Some of the techniques listed below are more likely to occur in specific programming languages, but software developers should be aware that it is possible to create insecure code in any...