Discovering SQL vulnerabilities with Python tools

In this section, we will learn how to test whether a website is vulnerable to SQL injection using the sqlmap penetration testing tool as an automated tool for finding and exploiting SQL injection vulnerabilities that inject values into the query parameters.

Introduction to SQL injection

Before defining the SQL injection attack, it is important to know its origins. SQL is a declarative database access language that allows querying, inserting, and modifying information. Its simplicity has made SQL the most widely used database access language today. The context for a SQL injection attack is as follows:

1. An application queries a database using SQL.
2. The application receives data from an unknown source.
3. The application executes queries to the database dynamically.

A SQL injection attack occurs when a value in the client request is used within a SQL query without prior sanitization. If we are working...