A Focus on Vulnerability Management
In recent years, the cybersecurity landscape has undergone significant transformations, particularly in the realm of vulnerability management. This shift is driven by the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, the proliferation of digital transformation initiatives, and the growing complexity of IT environments. In this blog, we will explore how vulnerabilities are changing and how organizations are adapting their ability to ingest feeds, services, and platforms to manage the entire vulnerability management lifecycle effectively. A special focus will be on incorporating the Exploitability Prioritization Scoring System (EPSS) and Known Exploitable Vulnerabilities (KEV) into vulnerability management practices.
The Changing Nature of Cyber Vulnerabilities
Cyber vulnerabilities have evolved from simple exploits to more sophisticated and multi-faceted threats. Modern vulnerabilities are often more complex, targeting various layers of an organization's infrastructure, including software, hardware, and human elements. Key trends in the changing nature of vulnerabilities include:
Increased attack surface: With the rise of cloud computing, IoT devices, and remote work environments, the attack surface has expanded, providing more entry points for cyber attackers.
Increased number of technologies and vulnerabilities: The introduction of new technologies has expanded potential security flaws, creating complex environments that obscure vulnerabilities. The volume overwhelms security teams, and the use of open-source components adds risks.
Zero-Day vulnerabilities: These are vulnerabilities that are unknown to the vendor and for which no patch is available, making them particularly dangerous as they can be exploited before any mitigation measures are in place.
Limitations of Traditional Vulnerability Assessment
Traditionally, organizations have relied heavily on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) to assess the severity of vulnerabilities. While CVSS provides a valuable baseline for evaluating vulnerabilities, it has inherent limitations:
Inability to prioritize: Because it lacks context-specific factors such as exploitability, CVSS often falls short in enabling Security Teams to prioritize based on the severity of vulnerabilities alone. This limitation underscores the need for more nuanced and dynamic approaches that enable analysts to address mission-critical threats first as they appear.
Insufficient exploitability assessment: CVSS does not adequately assess the exploitability of vulnerabilities. A high CVSS score does not necessarily mean that a vulnerability is easily exploitable in real-world scenarios. Conversely, a vulnerability with a low CVSS score may still be actively exploited if known techniques exist.
Organizations must embrace new vulnerability scoring mechanisms into their tools and workflows to better recognize critical vulnerabilities that pose immediate risks to their systems and data.
Two new methods that transform Vulnerability Management
To address the limitations of traditional vulnerability assessment methods, organizations need more advanced scoring methods such as the Exploitability Prioritization Scoring System (EPSS) and Known Exploitable Vulnerabilities (KEV).
Exploitability Prioritization Scoring System (EPSS):
What is EPSS?: EPSS evaluates the likelihood and ease of exploitation of vulnerabilities based on factors such as the presence of known exploits, attack vectors, and weaponization.
Benefits of EPSS: By incorporating EPSS into the risk scoring framework, organizations can provide more accurate assessments of vulnerability exploitability. This ensures that mitigation efforts are prioritized based on the actual likelihood of successful exploitation rather than solely relying on CVSS scores.
Consideration of Known Exploitable Vulnerabilities (KEV):
What is KEV?: KEV are vulnerabilities for which exploit techniques are publicly available and actively used by threat actors.
Benefits of Considering KEV: By including KEV in the risk scoring framework, organizations ensure that they are alerted to vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild, regardless of their CVSS scores. This proactive approach helps mitigate immediate threats and reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks.
Implementation Considerations for EPSS and KEV
Integrating EPSS and KEV into a vulnerability management framework involves several key steps:
Data Integration: Organizations must integrate additional sources of vulnerability intelligence such as exploit databases and threat intelligence feeds to gather information on known exploit techniques and KEV.
Scoring Algorithm Development: Engineering teams must develop algorithms to calculate EPSS scores based on exploitability factors and incorporate KEV data into the risk-scoring model.
User Interface Enhancement: The platform's user interface will require updates to display EPSS scores and highlight KEV vulnerabilities effectively.
Conclusion
Incorporating EPSS and KEV into a vulnerability management framework enhances the accuracy and effectiveness of vulnerability management practices. By providing more nuanced assessments of vulnerability exploitability and considering actively exploited vulnerabilities, organizations can prioritize mitigation efforts more effectively and reduce their exposure to cyber threats. While implementing these enhancements may require an initial investment in development and integration, the long-term benefits in terms of improved security posture and reduced risk far outweigh the associated costs. This proactive approach is crucial in an era where cyber threats are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated.
By leveraging advanced scoring systems and keeping abreast of known exploit techniques, organizations can stay one step ahead in the cybersecurity game, safeguarding their critical assets and ensuring operational resilience.