What You Should Know About Vulnerabilities, Exploits, and Vulnerability Management

In the world of vulnerability and exploit, there are two aspects to consider: vulnerabilities (what they are) and exploits (how they work). The two terms are often used interchangeably but they're not quite the same thing. 

Vulnerabilities are the root cause of attacks. They are the starting point of a chain that leads to an infection and data theft. However, vulnerabilities are only one part of the exploitation cycle. In order to make an attack succeed, attackers must also find a way to exploit the vulnerability. 

In this post, we’ll be looking at the differences between what a vulnerability is and what an exploit is, why this difference matters, and how you can better protect your environment from them.

What is a Vulnerability?

A vulnerability is a flaw or weakness in the security of a system or software that allows an attacker to break into the system. It can be used to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, manipulate the system, or harm the end-user. Vulnerabilities can typically be found in software, hardware, websites, web applications, and more. For example, a web application might have a vulnerability that allows hackers to access users’ personal information instead of the intended web page by entering their credentials. Whereas, a remote code execution vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on a system. 

There are many causes of vulnerabilities. One way is a failure of a system to follow known security procedures. This is also called a configuration error. Operating systems too, can have inherent flaws. Besides that, using third party software that has not been properly tested can also increase exposure and lead to vulnerabilities. One of the most common causes of vulnerability is a mistake in the design of a software. Developers can sometimes leave an exploitable bug in the programme. 

So what makes a bug a vulnerability?

A bug is any mistake in a program that causes it to behave in a way that is not intended by the developer or not welcome by the user. A vulnerability on the other hand, is a bug that manifests as an exploitable opportunity for an attacker.

Now that you’ve got a clear idea about vulnerabilities, let’s move on to understand what exploits are and how they’re different from vulnerabilities.

What is an Exploit?

An exploit is a program that is designed to take advantage of vulnerabilities. Put simply, exploits are the tools used by hackers to break into a computer. Exploits can take many different forms. They can be software programs that search for vulnerabilities in a system and then exploit them. They can also be pieces of malware that are designed to exploit specific vulnerabilities on a system to gain access. One of the most popular types of exploit is the exploit kit, which is a program that is designed to exploit vulnerabilities in a system without the user needing to be aware of it. Also referred to as kits, exploit kits are programs that surreptitiously add malicious scripts to websites. Once infected, the malicious scripts are used to deliver various forms of malware , depending on the exploit kit. The most common exploit kits can be found in underground markets online.

Why Do These Differences Matter?

According to Gartner , vulnerability management is a system that weighs active threats against business continuity. This means that not all vulnerabilities can and should be patched, rather only the most exploitable ones need to be fixed.

Understanding the distinction between vulnerable and exploitable can help you prioritize your actions as a defender. When you know which vulnerabilities pose an actual threat to your business (i.e., exploitable), you can devote your time to protecting against these flaws instead of blindly patching all vulnerabilities, thereby keeping your systems secure.

Examples of Exploits and Vulnerabilities

Check out the following examples of exploits to understand them better:

Types of Exploits

All computer exploits fall into one of two categories: 

Known Exploits

Computer exploits that have already been discovered and are known to be a security risk by cybersecurity experts are referred to as known exploits. Developers usually work on patches to make sure that these exploits are never used in the wild, and fix the targeted security flaws. However, despite these fixes, some exploits remain. This is because computer owners often find it difficult to keep up with the latest security patches and updates. Therefore, it is common for people to use older versions of software or operating systems. In these cases, known exploits can be used to gain access to a system.

Unknown Exploits

Computer exploits that have not yet been identified, researched, and reported on by cybersecurity experts are known as unknown exploits. The fact that these exploits exist could mean that either only cybercriminals are aware of the flaws they target, or that software developers were unable to create a fix for this issue as quickly as hackers could build a corresponding exploit kit. These exploits, also known as zero-day exploits, can sometimes take months to fix, giving hackers plenty of time and opportunities to distribute malware. 

Examples of Exploits

EternalBlue

EternalBlue is one of the most well-known exploits in the history of computer security. EternalBlue was originally developed by the National Security Agency before being stolen by the Shadow Brokers hacking group and leaked in March 2017. The NSA used the exploit for five years before alerting Microsoft about it. Even though Microsoft quickly patched EternalBlue, many people and organizations did not apply the patch in time. This enabled hackers to carry out some of the most devastating cyberattacks in history, such as WannaCry and NotPetya.

Examples of Vulnerabilities

Thousands of vulnerabilities are discovered every year. In this section we’re going over some of the most common vulnerabilities:

Security Misconfigurations

A security misconfiguration is an error that occurs when the security settings are not configured correctly. For example, a system administrator may have forgotten to change the default password for a user account. When a security misconfiguration error occurs, it may allow an attacker to gain access to sensitive information or inflict damage on the organization’s systems. These errors often go unnoticed for long periods of time, which can have serious negative business impacts. Over time, security misconfiguration errors can also negatively impact an organization’s security posture, which can have even larger business impact.

Buffer Overflow

Buffers act as a temporary storage for data while it is being transferred from one place to another. A buffer overflow occurs when the data being processed is larger than the size of the memory buffer. The buffer overflow can cause the program to run out of memory and allow access to sensitive data. Buffer overflows are often caused by improper programming practices, such as improper use of memory allocation, not validating input, improper use of pointers and strings, and not using a buffer overflow detection. 

Injection Flaws

In software, an injection flaw is a type of vulnerability that results from a programmer making an error that allows an attacker to inject arbitrary code into a program’s code. This code can then be used to perform malicious actions within the program. In some cases, the injected code may be completely silent, allowing the attack to go undetected until the program is used in a way that triggers the code. Other times, the code will cause an error that is visible to the user, which is then detected as a security warning. A common example of injection flaws is the SQL injection. Read more about it here . 

Broken Authentication

Some vulnerabilities result from a program’s failure to properly authenticate a user. In other words, the program fails to check whether the user is who they say they are. This can allow an attacker to perform actions within the program as if they were the user. This may include stealing information, logging keystrokes, or performing other malicious actions within the program. This type of flaw is often exploited in clickjacking attacks. 

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) flaws occur when a website contains malicious code that can be used to steal information or to harm a website in some way. XSS flaws allow an attacker to send malicious code to a user and have them perform undesired actions on behalf of the attacker. Because of this, XSS attacks are often a popular method for stealing data (such as a person’s email address) using a web browser.

4 Best Practices for Vulnerability Management

An effective vulnerability management program can help your business to proactively identify threats, minimize the risk of exploitation, be better prepared to respond to an attack and ensure you stay compliant with regulatory requirements.

But is your organization managing vulnerabilities the right way? 

Follow the steps below to get started:

Design a Vulnerability Management Strategy

A successful vulnerability management program should be designed to address the following: the business objectives, the IT objectives, and the legal requirements. It should also be designed to address the likelihood of exploitation of a vulnerability. This enables an organization to develop and improve visibility into its infrastructure, improving the ability to respond effectively to security risks.

Define Metrics

In order to achieve security objectives, it is important to define metrics that reflect the effectiveness of the vulnerability management program. This is why reporting is the most critical component in a scanning tool. The best scanning tools provide detailed reports with reliable information about discovered vulnerabilities, a general security overview, and a trends analysis.

Prioritize Vulnerabilities Properly

Vulnerability management is not just about patching. It’s about prioritizing which vulnerabilities to patch based on their severity and exploitability. Large organizations can have thousands of identified flaws at any given time, so deciding which to prioritize and fix immediately is crucial.

Use the Right Tools

While vulnerability management requirements vary from organization to organization, everyone can benefit from using a good vulnerability management tool. While evaluating tools for your organization, ensure to take into account the following factors - usability, reporting capabilities, automation, false-positive rates, pricing and licensing, and support. A good tool should also be able to integrate with the rest of your security infrastructure.

Conclusion

So, in summary, vulnerabilities are the foundation on which attackers build their exploit. Knowing the difference between the two can empower you to have better control over your network and your security posture.

Build Your Vulnerability Management Program with Threat Intelligence

As new technologies supersede older technologies, it’s time to modernize your vulnerability management strategy. Pure vulnerability scanners are just not sufficient anymore. Evolve has revolutionized penetration testing by enabling on-demand and regular Automated Penetration Testing across your distributed environments while enabling greater coverage, consolidated costs, and more effective security budgets. To learn more about how we can help you manage your vulnerability posture, schedule a demo with one of our experts today.