Course

The Code Review Patch challenges on Pentesterlab offer a practical way to understand and identify security vulnerabilities by examining both the vulnerable code and the corresponding patch. Initially, you are encouraged to find the flaw on your own to sharpen your code review skills. If you struggle to identify the issue or want to verify your findings, you can then refer to the patch (diff file) provided. This approach helps you not only in recognizing common security pitfalls but also in understanding how to fix them effectively.

In one of the labs, you are presented with the `ZipSourceWithBackingDirectory.java` file from the Apache Atlas project. The task is to identify vulnerabilities in the code, such as potential directory traversal attacks, and understand the patches applied to mitigate these risks. The patch introduces checks to ensure that zip entries do not contain relative parent paths, which could otherwise lead to unauthorized file access or overwrite. This hands-on experience is invaluable for anyone looking to improve their code review capabilities and understand secure coding practices.