Intruder - Sniper Attack

Purpose: The Sniper attack type is designed to test one input position at a time, allowing you to see how a single variable affects the outcome of a request. This is particularly useful for brute-force attacks on parameters like usernames, passwords, session tokens, etc.

How It Works:

• Single Position Testing: In a Sniper attack, you identify a single position in your request where the payloads will be inserted one by one. Each request only varies by this one position.

• Payload Iteration: Burp Suite will go through the list of payloads you provide and substitute them at the designated position, sending a new HTTP request for each payload.

Steps:

1.Capture the Request:

• Use Burp Suite’s Proxy tab to intercept the login request.

• For example, the intercepted HTTP POST request might look like this :

                                       POST /example?p1=p1val&p2=p2val HTTP/1.0

                                       Cookie: c=cval

                                       Content-Length: 17

                                        p3=p3val&p4=p4val

2.Set the Position:

• Go to the Intruder tab and add the intercepted request.

• Highlight the p3 parameter and click "Add §" to set it as a variable position.

• Highlight the p4 parameter and click "Add §" to set it as a variable position.

• The request will now look like this in the Positions tab:

3.Configure Payloads:

• In the Payloads tab, choose a list of common passwords to brute-force (e.g.123, 234, 345).

• Load these passwords into the payload list.

4.Start the Attack:

• Click "Start Attack" to begin the Sniper attack.

• Burp Suite will iterate through each password, replacing the p3 & p4 parameter in the request and sending it to the server.

Result Analysis: After the attack is completed, review the results to identify the correct password by looking for a different HTTP response status code, length, or other response details indicating a successful login.

Conclusion: The Sniper attack is ideal for scenarios where you need to focus on a single input parameter, testing how different values impact the behavior of the web application. It’s a straightforward approach for tasks like brute-forcing passwords or session tokens. The simplicity and focus of the Sniper attack make it an essential tool for precise testing when only one variable needs to be manipulated at a time.