Certificate Information

• Issued By: Offensive Security (OffSec)
• Date: 18 June, 2023
• Validate: credential.net

Advanced Web Attacks and exploitation (WEB-300) is an advanced web application security course that teaches the skills needed to conduct white box web application penetration testings. Learners who complete the course and pass the exam earn the Offensive Security Web Expert (OSWE) certification, which demonstrates mastery in exploiting front-facing web applications.

I decided to take up the Learn One Subscription by Offensive Security in December 2022, which provided me with 1 year of access to the course of my choice and 2 exam attempts. It was a step of faith for me to come out of my comfort zone and challenge myself in this manner but it was all worth it.

To be honest, I had not completed any of the labs that the course provided. This was primarily due to time constraints as I found myself struggling to manage multiple projects assigned to me in my internship at Ensign Infosecurity, along with school projects and assessments. Moreover, I was also going through a challenging phase in my personal life.

I relied upon my existing knowledge in developing web applications with PHP for the past 6 years from my polytechnic days as well as notes and tips from some of my friends at Singapore Institute of Technology. (Thank you, Kevin) I took time to look through the notes that was provided as part of the course but my mistake here was not having a refined white box penetration testing methodology with me before I took the exam. I booked my first exam attempt on 10 May 2023 at 6pm in the evening without clearing any labs from the course and I had definitely over-estimated my abilities to clear the exam then. (I would like to emphasize that I do not recommend anyone else to follow the same approach that I took here)

However, just 5 days before my exam, I received news that my god grandpa had just passed on. It shook me heavily as he was the one who took care of me when I was younger when my parents were busy with work. I found myself grieving a lot for my god grandpa's passing as well as handling various aspects of my god grandpa's funeral right before my exam. Before I realized it, it was already too late to reschedule my exam due to Offensive Security's policies. Right after my god grandpa's cremation, I took a ride home just in time to start my exam attempt.

I spent the first 12 hours combing through an extensive volume of code consisting of thousands and thounsads of lines, in hopes that I can find an authentication bypass vulnerability for one of the web applications but I unfortunately came up empty-handed. Hence, I took a short break from the exam to pay a visit to the Black Hat Asia 2023 Conference with my colleages from Ensign Infosecurity to gain some new perspective as well as take a much-needed break from the exam. I met up with my mentors at Ensign Infosecurity for breakfast before we attended the BLack Hat Asia 2023 Conference, namely Chun Yong and William, who helped me to identify the key issue in my approach to the exam. They were really generous in sharing their expertise on debugging web applications and highlighted important factors that I need to look out for during the rest of my exam.

I toured around the Black Hat Asia 2023 Conference with my fellow colleages for the next few hours before I headed back home to continue with my exam before noon. With the tips and new perspectives that I had gathered from my mentors, I was able to quickly identify the first authentication bypass vulnerability for one of the web application within the next few hours. I started automating my exploit in PHP as that was the programming language that I was most comfortable with, as I had spent a considerable amount of time developing web applications, exploits and APIs in PHP since my polytechnic studies. (Thank you, Temasek Polytechnic) I also found the remote code execution vulnerabilities within the next few couple hours but I spent too much time troubleshooting my script, which I realized that there was a typo after the exam. I discovered all the vulnerabilities before the exam ended but I did not have sufficient time to develop my exploit, which led me to the end as well as the failure of my first exam attempt.

However, with a refined white box penetration testing methodology now, along side the tips and skills that I had acquired from my mentors at Ensign Infosecurity, I was sure that I am prepared for the next exam attempt now. I booked my second exam attempt on 18 June 2023 at 6am in the morning and I was able to exploit 2 authentication bypasses vulnerabilities and 1 remote code execution vulnerability within a matter of hours. I devoted a significant amount of time to document my professional report before I ended my second exam attempt and a few days later, I received an email from Offensive Security that I had passed the Offensive Security Web Expert (OSWE) certification assessment!

My experience with the Advanced Web Attacks and Exploitation (WEB-300) course was a captivating journey filled with its own set of highs and lows. Although I managed to somewhat clear the Offensive Security Web Expert (OSWE) certification challenge (barely), it was still an incredibly rewarding undertaking from which I gained valuable knowledge and insights. I am deeply grateful to Offensive Security for providing the learning opportunity, my mentors at Ensign Infosecurity for their generous guidance and my friends at Singapore Institute of Technology who spurred me, even in the face of challenges.