Tenable is no. 1 in zero-day research
Rethinking your security with a zero-trust approach
Ahh, remember the days in information security where you could build a perimeter around your on-site IT and feel good about your defenses? With more cloud adoption and more interconnected devices expanding modern attack surfaces, that traditional security perimeter is now a thing of the past.
So, what can you do? How can you better protect your attack surface, especially as it continually expands and changes while the threat landscape becomes increasingly complex and attackers get ever-more sophisticated in their attack methods?
This is where adopting zero trust can help. But, what exactly does zero trust mean and how can you apply it most effectively?
You can start by reading “Rethinking Your Security with a Zero Trust Approach,” where you can learn more about:
- Why your organization needs zero trust
- What zero trust is and why it's important
- Key zero trust principles
- How Tenable can help your organization address zero trust
Frequently asked questions about zero-day vulnerabilities
Do you have questions about zero-day vulnerabilities but not sure where to start? Check out this zero-day FAQ.
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What is a zero-day vulnerability?
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A zero-day vulnerability is a unique type of vulnerability because there is no patch available for it. Why? Often, that's because the vulnerability has only recently been discovered or disclosed.
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Why is it called zero day?
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In context of vulnerability assessment and vulnerability management, a vulnerability may be referred to as zero day because the software or application developer or vendor has had zero days to remediate the vulnerability.
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What is a zero-day exploit?
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A zero-day exploit is an attack method bad actors use to take advantage of a previously unknown or undisclosed vulnerability.
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What is a zero-day attack?
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A zero-day attack is when an attacker uses a zero-day exploit to take advantage of a zero-day vulnerability to breach a system or asset.
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How does a zero-day attack work?
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Many applications and software have overlooked security issues such as misconfigurations or flaws in their code. When these security issues make it out of development and into a live production environment, it creates opportunities for attackers to seek them out and exploit them. For example, an attacker discovers an unpatched vulnerability in a web browser. As part of the exploit, the attacker may attempt to lure a user into going to an infected webpage or opening a file with malicious code attached. The goal here is to get access to the system or application with the unknown vulnerability. Attackers try to take advantage of these undisclosed vulnerabilities as long as possible and often use them to make undetected lateral movements through systems and networks.
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What are some examples of zero-day attacks?
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There are a number of examples of zero-day attacks; however, one of the best known in recent times may be the Apache Log4j Remote Code Execution vulnerability, which impacted a range of services and applications in the Log4j 2 logging library. Another zero-day attack example comes from 2020 when attackers discovered a vulnerability in Zoom and used it to gain access to administrators' systems.
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Are zero-day vulnerabilities and zero trust related?
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Zero-day vulnerabilities and zero trust aren't directly correlated; however, zero trust plays an important role in helping organizations manage cyber risks related to zero-day attacks, vulnerabilities and exploits.
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Who is behind zero-day attacks?
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A range of cybercriminals can be behind zero-day attacks. They can be driven by the lure of potential financial gain or directed by nation-states. Sometimes, with website zero-day vulnerabilities, for example, hackers may try a zero-day exploit to take over a website to spread certain messages or damage a brand's reputation. And while there are a lot of external threat actors for zero-day attacks, they can also come in the form of insiders, for example, disgruntled employees or employees motivated by outside sources with malicious intent.
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What is targeted in a zero-day attack?
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In a zero-day attack, threat actors often target those organizations considered “valuable.” Historically, these attacks have focused primarily on large organizations and government and public agencies. Sometimes, specific high-level or high-profile individuals have also been targeted. While still true, the reality is any organization in any industry with a zero-day vulnerability can be at risk of a zero-day attack.
Tenable connect community: from vulnerabilities to exploits, your go-to resource for zero day info
Do you have questions about zero-day vulnerabilities or zero-day attacks? Tenable Connect is a great place for interested professionals to connect and discuss all things related to zero day and zero trust.
Detecting zero-day vulnerabilities: Searching for plugins related to CVE
While Zero-Day vulnerabilities are not something we'd like to occur, they happen. At Tenable, our research team is dedicated to identifying and reporting zero-day vulnerabilities. After our team discovers a vulnerability, Tenable will: report it to the vendor; announce the vulnerability via our public outlets; and develop plugins to address the vulnerability. Read more
Defending against ransomware: Common exploits
Attackers prey on remote access infrastructure and web application flaws for entry points into the network. Vulnerabilities are exposures attackers can exploit and can be in the form of a software defect, configuration error or basic human error. Ransomware strains are increasingly using software vulnerabilities as the initial attack vector. Read more
CIS control 2: Inventory and control of software assets
CIS states, "Some sophisticated attackers may use zero-day exploits, which take advantage of previously unknown vulnerabilities for which no patch has yet been released by the software vendor. Without proper knowledge or control of the software deployed in an organization, defenders cannot properly secure their assets". Read more
Actively discover, understand and prioritize attack surface vulnerabilities
As your attack surface expands and new applications, solutions and assets rapidly spin up and down in your cloud environment, it can be challenging to see where you might have vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. But it doesn’t have to be. Tenable One can give you insight into all of your risks, from build to runtime, so you can build security into the core of your organization from the ground up.
Zero-day blog bytes
Zero days do not wait for CVEs
CVE creation can lag behind zero days because exploits are discovered before anyone can properly categorize and write up a relevant CVE release for new vulnerabilities. That is not always true, but it happens frequently enough. In this blog, learn more about how an up-to-date attack surface map can help your teams find critical vulnerabilities, even in some cases where you traditional network security scanner doesn’t. Read more
Zero in and ‘zero click’ into the current vulnerability landscape
Thousands of vulnerabilities are disclosed every year and it makes it increasingly challenging for your security team to keep up with what’s released, understand potential impact on your organization and to make plans to prioritize what matters most first. This blog takes a closer look at some recent vulnerabilities and their potential impact so you can better understand common traits and what you could do to expand vulnerability coverage. Read more
Zero day vulnerabilities in industrial control systems
When researchers disclosed zero-day vulnerabilities for Schneider Electric’s industrial control systems (ICS), it highlighted a real-world scenario of some of the many security challenges that exist today in the modern critical infrastructure ecosystem. This blog takes a closer look at those vulnerabilities and offers some action items that may help your organization better secure your critical infrastructure environment. Read more
Microsoft’s November 2022 patch Tuesday addresses 62 CVEs
In late November 2022, Microsoft patched 62 CVEs, including four zero-day vulnerabilities that attackers had exploited in the wild. This blog takes a closer look at what those vulnerabilities are, highlights a few of the most critical and important ones, and offers solutions about how you can quickly use Tenable plug-ins to patch systems and address these issues. Read more
Tenable research on Medium
Want to learn more about how Tenable Research discovers zero-day vulnerabilities and what it’s doing to help organizations like yours discover and remediate them? Check out Tenable Research’s tech blog on Medium to learn more about everything from the latest CVEs to how your security and IT teams can work better together, to the latest developments in Tenable products and services.
Eliminate attack paths with Tenable One
If you don’t know which assets you have — and how many you have, where they are and how they’re used — it’s difficult to get insight into which vulnerabilities might exist in your attack surface. You also lose insight into their interconnectivity and how attackers might exploit those weaknesses to move laterally across your attack surface, often without you knowing, especially if they’re taking advantage of a zero-day vulnerability you haven’t yet discovered.
Tenable One can help your security teams understand the interconnectivity of all of your assets and help them visualize potential attack paths threat actors might take to exploit your vulnerabilities. With Tenable One, you can see everything across your attack surface, including the ability to identify security issues during your software development lifecycle so you can stay one step ahead of attackers.
Get a unified view of your attack surface to discover and fix vulnerabilities
Tenable One empowers security teams with a unified view of all assets and related vulnerabilities — even for software and applications throughout the software development lifecycle — so you can easily predict and prioritize what needs remediation before attackers get a chance to exploit your weaknesses.
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