Life of a Vulnerability — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

Every software vulnerability lives the same life, and this set follows one of them from start to finish: a flaw in a photo-editing app, from the line of code that caused it to the day a company's computers are finally patched. The lesson gives that life cycle as a short list — flawed code released, flaw discovered, flaw recorded in the CVE list, patch created, patch sent out — and the list is easy to recite and easy to get wrong. So the cards here tell a story instead, and none of them is labelled with its stage. The order comes from one question: at this moment, who knows about the flaw? At the start, nobody does. The code is released and installed everywhere, and that is where zero day begins — not when an attacker shows up, but when the flawed code ships, because from that moment the developers have had zero days to do anything about a problem they cannot see. An attacker who finds the flaw first and uses it while the developers are still in the dark is making a zero-day attack. The flaw is only discovered, for the people who can fix it, when someone reports it; once it is reported it gets a CVE identifier, so everyone can refer to the same problem by the same name; and only then can the developers build a patch and send it out. The last card carries the idea beginners most often miss. The window of vulnerability runs from release until things get patched, and a patch that has been sent out but not installed has closed nothing. For any one machine, the window shuts on the day someone installs the update. All eight events are presented every run. A life cycle with a stage taken out is not a shorter version of the same thing, it is a broken one. Run this after fscs-02-0050, Threats - Common Software Vulnerabilities.

What you'll learn

Sequence the software vulnerability life cycle — flawed code released, the flaw discovered, the flaw recorded in the CVE list, a patch created, the patch sent out and installed — by applying it to one vulnerability's story
Explain why the zero-day period begins the moment flawed code is released, and recognise an attack made before the developers know about the flaw as a zero-day attack
Identify the window of vulnerability as the time between release and a patch actually being installed, and explain why a patch that has been sent out but not installed leaves that window open

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

4.3 Explain various activities associated with vulnerability management.

2.3 Explain various types of vulnerabilities.

Cisco CCST Cybersecurity

4.1 Explain vulnerability management

1.2 Explain common threats and vulnerabilities

NIST CSF

ID.RA-08 Processes for receiving, analyzing, and responding to vulnerability disclosures are established.

ID.RA-01 Vulnerabilities in assets are identified, validated, and recorded.

NIST NICE

K0723 Knowledge of vulnerability data sources

NIST 800-53

SI-2 Flaw Remediation

Key terms

Vulnerability Lifecycle: The stages a vulnerability passes through from its introduction in software through discovery, public disclosure, patch release, and remediation.
Zero-Day: A vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor and has no available patch at the time of exploitation.
Window of Vulnerability: The period of time between the discovery or release of a vulnerability and the availability and deployment of a patch to fix it.
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures is a publicly maintained dictionary that assigns unique identifiers to known software and hardware vulnerabilities, providing a common reference point for vulnerability tracking, disclosure, and remediation.
Patch: A software update released by a developer to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs, or functionality issues in an operating system or application.
Vulnerability: A weakness in a system, application, or process that can be exploited by a threat actor.
Exploit: A piece of software or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability to gain unauthorized access or cause harm.
Threat Actor: An individual or group responsible for a security incident or attack.
Patch Management: The process of acquiring, testing, and installing software updates to fix vulnerabilities and improve functionality.

Topics

Interactive Ordering

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