Hacking and Patching (Coursera)

Hacking and Patching (Coursera)

In this MOOC, you will learn how to hack web apps with command injection vulnerabilities in a web site of your AWS Linux instance. You will learn how to search valuable information on a typical Linux systems with LAMP services, and deposit and hide Trojans for future exploitation. You will learn how to patch these web apps with input validation using regular expression. You will learn a security design pattern to avoid introducing injection vulnerabilities by input validation and replacing generic system calls with specific function calls.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

You will learn how to hack web apps with SQL injection vulnerabilities and retrieve user profile information and passwords. You will learn how to patch them with input validation and SQL parameter binding. You will learn the hacking methodology, Nessus tool for scanning vulnerabilities, Kali Linux for penetration testing, and Metasploit Framework for gaining access to vulnerable Windows Systems, deploying keylogger, and perform Remote VNC server injection. You will learn security in memory systems and virtual memory layout, and understand buffer overflow attacks and their defenses. You will learn how to clone a Kali instance with AWS P2 GPU support and perform hashcat password cracking using dictionary attacks and known pattern mask attacks.

Course 3 of 4 in the Fundamentals of Computer Network Security Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Injection Web App Attacks and Their Defenses
In this module we will learn how to hack web app with command injection vulnerability with only four characters malicious string. We will learn how to hack web app with database backend with SQL injection vulnerability and potentially show the list of passwords by injecting string to overwrite SQL query. We will learn how to perform code review to spot the key statements/their patterns that expose the programs for such injection attacks and learn how to patch them. We will learn how to apply security design pattern to defend injection attacks and enhance web security.

WEEK 2
Hack SQL Databases and Patch Web Apps with SQL Injection Vulnerabilities
In this module we will learn how to hack web app with database backend with SQL injection vulnerability and potentially show the list of passwords by injecting string to overwrite SQL query.We will learn how to perform code review to spot the key statements/their patterns that expose the programs for such injection attacks and learn how to patch them. We will learn the eight-step hacker methodology for exploit systems. For the escalating privilege techniques, we show how to leverage command injection vulnerability to search file systems and deposit/hide Trojans for future exploit.

WEEK 3
Memory Attacks and Defenses
In this module, we learn about the typical protection mechanism provided by the modern OS to prevent process from accessing other pages data belong different process. We will also learn buffer overflow attacks and their common defenses.

WEEK 4
Penetration Testing
In this module we will learn how to perform Vulnerability Scanning with Nessus tool, learn to perform penetration testing using tools included in Kali Linux distribution and to use Metasploit Framework to take control a vulnerable machine, deploy keylogger, run remote shell and remote VNC injection.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Innovative Finance: Hacking finance to change the world (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Innovative Finance: Hacking finance to change the world (Coursera)

To address global poverty - do we really not have enough resources or do we not have the right tools to allocate our resources? The tools of finance, when applied correctly, can be an enabler of social and environmental outcomes. This course is designed to give you the ability to build innovative financing strategies that work towards outcomes such as financial inclusion, access to energy and access to education.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Risk in Modern Society (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University,LDE Centre for Safety and Security

Risk in Modern Society (Coursera)

Risk has become one of the defining features of modern society. Almost daily, we are preoccupied with assessing, discussing, or preventing a wide variety of risks. It is a cornerstone notion for businesses and organizations, but also for nation states and their many levels of government. And even for individuals, risk and the avoidance or embracing thereof, is a key theme. The course Risk in Modern Society sheds light on the broad concept of risk.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Cybersecurity in Healthcare (Hospitals & Care Centres) (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Cybersecurity in Healthcare (Hospitals & Care Centres) (Coursera)

The Cybersecurity in Healthcare MOOC was developed as part the SecureHospitals.eu project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Coordination Research and Innovation Action under Grant Agreement No. 826497. The course "Cybersecurity in Healthcare" has been developed to raise awareness and understanding the role of cybersecurity in healthcare (e.g., hospitals, care centres, clinics, other medical or social care institutions and service organisations) and the challenges that surround it.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Cloud Computing Security (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Cloud Computing Security (Coursera)

In this MOOC, we will learn Cloud Computing basics using AWS as an example, We will guide you to create AWS account, planning AWS resources for your cloud systems, create AWS EC2 instances, access them and configure the popular LAMP web services with MySQL database. We will guide you to create user accounts for your programmer or operators using AWS Identify and Access management GUI, Register your domain name and setup DNS entry for your servers using AWS Route 53 in 22 mintues! and show you how to use AWS Command Line interface to create and managing instances and services programmatically.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Information Systems Auditing, Controls and Assurance (Coursera) Coursera
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST

Information Systems Auditing, Controls and Assurance (Coursera)

Information systems (IS) are important assets to business organizations and are ubiquitous in our daily lives. With the latest IS technologies emerging, such as Big Data, FinTech, Virtual Banks, there are more concerns from the public on how organizations maintain systems’ integrity, such as data privacy, information security, the compliance to the government regulations. Management in organizations also need to be assured that systems work the way they expected. IS auditors play a crucial role in handling these issues.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Usable Security (Coursera) Coursera
University of Maryland, College Park

Usable Security (Coursera)

This course focuses on how to design and build secure systems with a human-centric focus. We will look at basic principles of human-computer interaction, and apply these insights to the design of secure systems with the goal of developing security measures that respect human performance and their goals within a system.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Security and Privacy in TOR Network (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Security and Privacy in TOR Network (Coursera)

In this MOOC, we will learn about TOR basic concept and see how they protect the security and privacy of users and resist censorship. We will examine how TOR realize the anonymity and utilize its service by downloading and using Tor browser software. A recent attack on TOR’s application flow control called sniper attacks is analyzed.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Malware Analysis and Introduction to Assembly Language (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

Malware Analysis and Introduction to Assembly Language (Coursera)

Malicious software, or malware, is typically delivered over a network and is designed to cause disruption to a computer, client, server, or network. Disruptions can include leaked private information, unauthorized access to information or systems, blocked user access, interference with security and privacy, or numerous other variations of attacking systems.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Exam Prep: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (Coursera) Coursera
AWS

Exam Prep: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (Coursera)

This new intermediate-level course from Amazon Web Services (AWS) is designed to help you to assess your preparedness for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam. You will learn how to prepare for the exam by exploring the exam’s topic areas and how they map to architecting on AWS. You will review sample certification questions in each domain, practice skills with hands-on exercises, test your knowledge with practice question sets, and learn strategies for identifying incorrect responses by interpreting the concepts that are being tested in the exam.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks