Understanding Software Vulnerability Types

Name: Understanding Software Vulnerability Types
Author: Martha Percival-Dangleben

Discover how to protect your system from software vulnerabilities

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Course: On-Demand

(soft music) Software vulnerabilities are unintentional flaws or weaknesses found in software that can be exploited by an attacker. Some vulnerabilities are created because of improper security configurations or programming errors. A zero-day vulnerability is a software security flaw that is known to the software vendor but doesn't have a patch in place to fix the flaw. The vendor usually provides mitigation recommendations to prevent an exploit of the vulnerability until a patch is developed. SQL injection is a vulnerability that allows an attacker to perform unauthorized SQL queries that an application makes to its database. This results in unauthorized access to confidential information. Here's an example of a normal SQL query. The account number string is passed into an SQL statement. The database is searched to retrieve the account number that matches the number entered and returns all associated data stored in the database about the account. The code might look something like this. If a user enters an account number in the webpage form labeled, "Please enter your account number," the resulting SQL query will look like this. This SQL command will return all data associated with the account number entered. This works as expected. Here's an example of an SQL injection query. An attacker enters an SQL query command into the input field. This time, instead of searching for the account number, the query looks for an account number or one is equal to one. One equal one will always be true, so all account data from the account number table will be returned. To prevent SQL injection attacks, consider these recommended practices. Perform input validation. Use a white list or allow list that includes specific allowed values accepted by the input field. Validate input against a known safe set of characters and length and use prepared statements so the user's input is not treated as an SQL statement. Another type of common software vulnerability attack is an OS command injection. This occurs when an attacker is able to execute system commands on the device's operating system via a vulnerable application. These attacks are caused by insufficient input validation. Here is an example of an OS command injection posted on the common weakness enumeration or CWE list, a community developed list of software and hardware weaknesses. In this example, the input value provided in the username variable is not validated. Any system commands provided in the username input would be accepted and RM command would be executed to delete the files in the home directory. Another best practice to prevent attacks is to avoid configuration errors within software functions. Insecure configurations of software settings can leave the user vulnerable to attacks exploiting that specific application. Examples of software configuration errors are unnecessary features enabled or installed such as unnecessary ports, services, pages, accounts or privileges, default accounts with their passwords still enabled and unchanged, security features left unimplemented, software kept out of date and unsupported by the vendor. In August, 2021, Microsoft Power Apps misconfiguration exposed 38 million data records. According to UpGuard, sensitive data including COVID-19 vaccination statuses, social security numbers and email addresses was exposed due to weak default configurations for Microsoft Power Apps which are low code tools used to design apps and create public and private websites. The vulnerability affected American Airlines, government agencies, and other customers across numerous industries. As a result of the exposure, Microsoft updated the software to have table permissions enabled by default, removing the default configuration that allowed anonymous access. One final type of software vulnerability attack is buffer overflow. A buffer is a temporary holding space in memory for storing data. Buffer overflow is a programming vulnerability that occurs when an application stores more data in the buffer memory than the size of memory defined. For example, let's say a field on a webpage requires an account number. The field is expecting eight characters but you enter 10 characters instead, two more bytes than expected. The application accepts the input and writes the 10 character value to memory which exceeds the expected buffer size of eight. The application does not allocate an appropriately sized buffer space and fails to perform a validation check to confirm the size of field expected so the buffer overflow occurs. Some programming languages such as C or C++ are more susceptible to buffer overflow because they do not have overflow protection built in. Java and JavaScript are less vulnerable to buffer overflow vulnerabilities. The majority of buffer overflow vulnerabilities are caused by insecure coding. To prevent buffer overflow vulnerabilities, consider putting secure coding checks in place performed by developers. Considerations for developers include, avoiding risky programming functions such as STRCPY when possible in programming languages that are susceptible to buffer overflows, defining the appropriate buffer size expected, performing input validation checks to confirm expected length of field and paying attention to compiler warnings and recommendations to use secure alternatives of programming functions used.

Intermediate Provider : Martha Percival-Dangleben 3 Lessons · 11m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

Often cyber criminals can steal data because of something an individual or employee of a company unknowingly does that allows the hacker to gain access to sensitive information. Other times, the cause is embedded in software applications themselves. Software vulnerabilities are unintentional programming flaws that can be exploited by an attacker. It is very important for developers be proactive in fixing vulnerabilities prior to production deployment to reduce security risks. Failure to fix flaws can be catastrophic to an organization’s reputation and bottom line when customers’ and clients’ confidential information is compromised.

In these lessons on Understanding Software Vulnerability Types, you’ll explore the most common types of vulnerabilities, including zero-day, SQL and OS command injections, configuration errors, and buffer overflow issues. You’ll learn why implementing a vulnerability management process is so important and discover the assessment tools available to conduct endpoint, web application, and penetration testing.

What You'll Learn

Identify the most common software vulnerability types, including zero-day, SQL and OS command injections, configuration errors, and buffer overflow issues
Explain how hackers exploit different vulnerability types
Describe the benefits of implementing a vulnerability management process
Discover assessment tools used to identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited
Apply endpoint, web application, and penetration testing to assess vulnerabilities

Key Takeaways

Software vulnerabilities are unintentional programming flaws that can be exploited by an attacker.
Developers should be proactive in fixing vulnerabilities prior to production deployment to reduce security risks.
Failure to fix flaws can be catastrophic to an organization's reputation and bottom line when customers' and clients' confidential information is compromised.
Common vulnerability types covered include zero-day, SQL and OS command injections, configuration errors, and buffer overflow issues.
Assessment tools are available to conduct endpoint, web application, and penetration testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

The course explores the most common types of software vulnerabilities, including zero-day, SQL and OS command injections, configuration errors, and buffer overflow issues. It also covers why implementing a vulnerability management process is important and the assessment tools available to conduct endpoint, web application, and penetration testing.

Who is this course for?

It is geared toward developers, who should be proactive in fixing vulnerabilities prior to production deployment to reduce security risks.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will build skills in Information Assurance Vulnerability Management (IAVM), vulnerability discovery, vulnerability assessments, vulnerability scanning, and vulnerability management.

What lessons are included?

The course includes three lessons: Common Software Vulnerabilities, Vulnerability Management, and Vulnerability Assessment Tools.

Why is fixing software vulnerabilities important?

Software vulnerabilities are unintentional programming flaws that can be exploited by an attacker, and failure to fix flaws can be catastrophic to an organization's reputation and bottom line when customers' and clients' confidential information is compromised.