Security vulnerabilities in modern web browser architecture

The Web today has become the most used and popular platform for application development. In the beginnings of the Web, applications provided users just the ability to browse and read content. The expansion and adoption of new web technologies has led to a significant increase in development and, more importantly, usage of web applications that allow users to create their own content and impact their life (e.g. e-banking, e-commerce, social networks). Web 2.0 applications introduced new possibilities for both users and application developers, but also created new security concerns. Almost every Internet user uses a web browser to access any content on the Internet. Each web application is designed and developed to be executed inside the web browser. The web browser mediates between users and applications. In such an architecture, malicious applications could be loaded and executed inside the web browser, making it a vulnerable point in preserving security. Modern web applications demand for a new web browser architecture design that will meet new security requirements arisen with Web 2.0. In this paper, we study web browser vulnerabilities, analyze popular web browsers architecture and present how they cope with potential security threats.