decrypting myths is concerned depends on security teams being able to prioritise their efforts based on the factors that really matter . Rather than sinking valuable resources into remediating headlinegrabbing vulnerabilities that pose little or no threat to the organisation , identifying the right vulnerabilities to fix increasingly depends on embracing an objective and consistent way to prioritise vulnerabilities .
Let ’ s take a look at the top four factors that security teams should consider when evaluating which vulnerabilities represent the greatest risk to a specific environment :
1 . Does it allow for remote code execution ?
Remote code execution enables an attacker to access a computing device from anywhere in the world to make damaging changes , so it ’ s no surprise that remote code execution tops the wish list of hackers everywhere . Having established a way to run their code on
At the end of the day , effective vulnerability management requires a riskbased approach to prioritising remediation efforts , so that the right vulnerabilities are addressed at the right time . a remote system , hackers then have the ability to inflict all kinds of chaos , including establishing bot networks , stealing data , or infiltrating networks .
2 . Does it have an exploit published in a widelyused toolkit ?
Unfortunately , the same Metasploit security teams use to pen test their organisation ’ s defences and identify weaknesses has become the de facto standard for exploit development . When hackers use Metasploit , they ’ re not just creating tests , they ’ re creating real attacks . So whenever modules appear in Metasploit , it ’ s a given that attackers are , or soon will be , leveraging these to exploit vulnerabilities .
For that reason , any vulnerability identified with a Metasploit module should be at the top of an enterprise ’ s list of vulnerabilities to patch or mitigate . Regular patching , running applications or processes with least privileges , and limiting network access to only trusted hosts , can all play a pivotal role in limiting a hacker ’ s ability to leverage Metasploit .
Security teams are also well-advised to consider blackhat exploit kits . Despite having a much lower proliferation rate than Metasploit , their intent is much clearer . In other words , using an exploit from a blackhat kit is almost always for malicious intent and for this reason should be incorporated into the remediation decision-making process accordingly .
3 . Does it have network accessibility ?
Network accessibility plays a major role when determining the severity of a security threat and the likelihood of a vulnerability ’ s exploitation . Today ’ s attackers will leverage automation to
execute attacks at scale and are on the lookout for network-accessibility vulnerabilities that can form the basis of botnets as well as command-andcontrol communications .
Cross-site scripting , missing functionlevel access controls or patterns of excessive use also serve as common examples of network accessibility vulnerabilities that should be prioritised for management .
4 . Is it included in the Exploit Database ?
The Exploit Database is a comprehensive repository of exploits and proof-ofconcept attacks . Unfortunately , just like Metasploit , the Exploit Database is
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