Vulnerability Intelligence

5 automated security scanners

Vendor Security Posture Shifts

Purpose: The Vendor Security Posture Shifts Scanner is designed to detect shifts in vendor security quality trends and patch reliability changes by analyzing company security documentation, public policy pages, trust center information, and compliance certifications. This tool helps identify potential vulnerabilities in the supply chain and assess the maturity of a vendor’s security practices.

What It Detects:

Security Policy Indicators: Identifies mentions of “security policy” to ensure comprehensive coverage of security guidelines. It also checks for “incident response” plans indicating preparedness for breaches, “data protection” measures to safeguard sensitive information, and verifies the presence of “access control” mechanisms to manage user permissions.
Maturity Indicators: Detects references to SOC 2 compliance, a widely recognized standard for security, availability, confidentiality, integrity, and privacy. It also checks for ISO 27001 certification, which outlines an information security management system (ISMS). The scanner looks for mentions of “penetration test” results to assess the effectiveness of security measures and verifies the occurrence of “vulnerability scan” or “assessment” activities.
Trust Center Information: Analyzes trust center pages for detailed security disclosures and transparency. It checks for regular updates on security practices and incident response procedures, as well as third-party audits and certifications listed on trust center pages.
Compliance Certifications: Identifies references to compliance with industry-specific standards (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA). It verifies the presence of relevant certifications that demonstrate adherence to regulatory requirements and checks for any mentions of security frameworks or best practices (e.g., NIST).
Public Policy Pages: Examines public policy pages for detailed security commitments and policies. It looks for statements on data handling, privacy, and security measures, as well as the presence of contact information for reporting security issues.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)
company_name (string): Company name for statement searching (e.g., “Acme Corporation”)

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for assessing the security posture of vendors, helping organizations identify potential vulnerabilities and risks in their supply chain. Understanding shifts in vendor security quality trends and patch reliability changes can significantly impact an organization’s overall risk management and compliance efforts.

Risk Levels:

Critical: The presence of significant gaps in security policies or practices that could lead to severe breaches or non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
High: Inadequate security measures, lack of transparency in security practices, or incomplete compliance certifications which may still pose a risk but are less severe than critical.
Medium: Some areas of concern in security practices, such as outdated policies or missing documentation, that require attention but do not immediately impact security posture.
Low: Minor issues with security practices that can be addressed through ongoing monitoring and minor updates.
Info: Informal mentions or non-critical findings that provide some insights into a vendor’s security posture but generally do not affect the overall risk profile significantly.

Example Findings:

A company lacks a comprehensive security policy, with only minimal references to data protection and access control mechanisms in various documents.
An organization has outdated penetration test results from 2019, indicating a lack of recent vulnerability assessment activities that could expose the vendor to current threats.

Common Vulnerability Pattern Recurrence

Purpose: The Common Vulnerability Pattern Recurrence Scanner is designed to identify the cyclical reemergence of attack patterns and revivals of known weaknesses within an organization’s security posture by analyzing publicly available documentation, policies, and compliance certifications.

What It Detects:

Policy Indicators Analysis: Identifies the presence or absence of key security policy documents such as “security policy,” “incident response,” “data protection,” and “access control.”
Maturity Indicator Assessment: Evaluates the maturity of an organization’s security practices by looking for certifications like SOC 2, ISO 27001, mentions of penetration testing, and vulnerability scanning/assessment.
Pattern Recurrence Detection: Detects recurring attack patterns or weaknesses that have previously been identified in breach disclosures or security reports.
Documentation Completeness Review: Assesses the completeness and accessibility of company security documentation available on their website.
Compliance Certification Verification: Verifies the presence of compliance certifications mentioned in trust center information and public policy pages.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)
company_name (string): Company name for statement searching (e.g., “Acme Corporation”)

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for organizations aiming to continuously improve their security posture by addressing vulnerabilities and improving policy adherence, which directly impacts the resilience against cyber threats and compliance with industry standards.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Conditions that could lead to immediate system failure or significant data loss, requiring urgent attention.
High: Conditions that pose a high risk of significant harm, such as widespread unauthorized access or critical data exposure.
Medium: Conditions that may lead to moderate risks, potentially affecting multiple aspects of the organization’s operations.
Low: Conditions that are generally informational and do not significantly impact security posture but could indicate areas for improvement.
Info: Informational findings that provide insights into best practices or compliance status without immediate risk.

Example Findings:

The scanner might flag a lack of an up-to-date incident response plan, which is critical for managing cyber incidents effectively and minimizing damage.
It could also identify unverified compliance with ISO 27001 standards, indicating potential gaps in security practices that need to be addressed to meet international benchmarks.

Technology Sunset Vulnerability Exposure

Purpose: The Technology Sunset Vulnerability Exposure Scanner is designed to identify potential security vulnerabilities arising from outdated technologies within a company’s infrastructure. It aims to detect and address end-of-life software, abandoned components, and support transitions that could expose the organization to risks.

What It Detects:

End-of-Life Software Detection: Identifies mentions of software that has reached its end-of-life stage, indicating potential vulnerabilities due to unsupported features and no longer being maintained or updated.
Abandoned Components Identification: Scans for references to components that are no longer maintained or supported, which can lead to security gaps as these components may not receive critical updates or patches.
Support Transition Monitoring: Identifies mentions of transitions from one support model to another, highlighting potential gaps in security coverage and the need for immediate attention to ensure continued protection.
Outdated Technology Stack Analysis: Analyzes the company’s technology stack for outdated technologies that may pose significant security risks, including legacy systems and unsupported software versions.
Documentation of End-of-Life Policies: Checks for the presence and clarity of policies related to end-of-life management, which is crucial for maintaining a secure and compliant environment.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): The primary domain to analyze, providing the website address where the scanner will search for relevant information.
company_name (string): The name of the company, used in statement searching to contextualize findings within the organization’s broader context.

Business Impact: This scanner is critical as it helps organizations proactively identify and mitigate risks associated with outdated technology, ensuring that their security posture remains robust despite technological advancements and changes in vendor support.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Findings indicating immediate end-of-life software or unsupported components could lead to severe vulnerabilities and potential data breaches if not addressed promptly.
High: Recognizing transitions from supported to unsupported environments is crucial for avoiding significant security gaps that might be exploited by malicious actors.
Medium: Identifying outdated technology within the stack can lead to suboptimal performance and increased vulnerability, though less critical than higher risks.
Low: Informational findings about policies or minor issues with technology usage are considered low risk but still need attention for continuous improvement in IT management practices.
Info: These are generally non-critical observations that provide context on the company’s technological footprint without immediate security implications.

Example Findings:

“Our legacy database system has reached its end of life and is no longer supported, which could expose us to significant security risks.”
“The software version used in our production environment is outdated and poses a high risk due to known vulnerabilities not being patched.”

Zero-Day Rediscovery Patterns

Purpose: The Zero-Day Rediscovery Patterns Scanner is designed to identify potential zero-day vulnerabilities in a domain’s technology stack by detecting specific patterns and indicators that may indicate the presence of unpatched security flaws. This scanner helps organizations proactively address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers.

What It Detects:

Technology Stack Detection: Identifies the web server software (e.g., Apache, Nginx), popular web frameworks and programming languages, CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal, and commonly used JavaScript libraries running on the domain.
Vulnerability Patterns: Checks for known vulnerabilities associated with detected technologies and analyzes historical exploit patterns to identify potential zero-day vulnerabilities.
Rediscovery Indicators: Identifies if the domain has recently updated its technology stack or software and detects unusual traffic patterns that may indicate an attempt to exploit a known vulnerability.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)

Business Impact: Proactively identifying potential zero-day vulnerabilities in the technology stack can significantly enhance the security posture of an organization by allowing for timely patching and mitigation strategies before known exploits become actionable for cyber attackers. This proactive approach helps prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and other malicious activities that could lead to significant financial losses and reputational damage.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Findings that directly compromise the security of the system, such as unpatched vulnerabilities in critical software components or configurations that allow for full system compromise without user interaction.
High: Vulnerabilities that can be exploited with low effort but may lead to significant consequences if successful, such as unauthenticated access points or data leakage through known exploits.
Medium: Vulnerabilities that require some level of authentication or privileged access to exploit fully but could still result in substantial damage if successfully targeted, like persistent vulnerabilities in software configurations.
Low: Informal findings that may not pose an immediate risk but are indicative of less secure practices or outdated components, such as the use of deprecated libraries or misconfigurations that can be easily remediated with minimal effort.
Info: Non-critical issues providing informational value about the system’s configuration and potential areas for improvement without significant security implications.

Example Findings:

Detection of an Apache web server running on the domain, indicating a common but potentially unpatched vulnerability that could be exploited by attackers.
Identification of WordPress as the CMS platform, which is known to have numerous vulnerabilities that could be leveraged in various attack scenarios.

Temporal Patch Effectiveness

Purpose: The Temporal Patch Effectiveness Scanner evaluates the quality and sustainability of patches over time to ensure that vulnerabilities are effectively addressed and fixed in a timely manner. This helps organizations maintain robust security postures by identifying potential weaknesses in their patch management processes.

What It Detects:

Patch Release Timeliness: Identify delays between vulnerability disclosure and patch release, checking adherence to standard patch timelines (e.g., within 30 days of disclosure).
Patch Coverage Analysis: Verify that patches address all identified vulnerabilities by cross-referencing with CVE databases.
Patch Effectiveness Verification: Test whether patches successfully mitigate the vulnerabilities they are intended to fix through re-testing after application.
Documentation and Communication: Assess the quality of documentation accompanying patches, ensuring clear communication about the nature of the vulnerability and the patch.
Sustainability of Fixes: Monitor long-term maintenance of fixes to ensure they remain effective over time, identifying potential regressions or new vulnerabilities introduced by patches.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com). This is crucial for the scanner to gather information from the correct website where patch releases and vulnerability disclosures might be published.
company_name (string): Company name for statement searching, which helps in identifying relevant security advisories or patches related to the company’s products.

Business Impact: Maintaining a robust security posture is crucial as it directly impacts an organization’s ability to protect its assets and data from potential threats. Ineffective patch management can lead to prolonged exposure of systems to vulnerabilities, increasing the risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches.

Risk Levels:

Critical: This severity level would be triggered if patches are not released in a timely manner despite known vulnerabilities or if there is significant evidence that fixes do not effectively address the underlying issues.
High: Triggered when patch releases significantly lag behind vulnerability disclosures, indicating potential gaps in security practices and increased risk of exploitation.
Medium: Applies when patch release timelines are longer than standard, suggesting room for improvement in both response time and effectiveness of patches.
Low: Informs about cases where vulnerabilities have been promptly addressed but with minimal delay or where the impact of a vulnerability is deemed low enough not to warrant immediate action.
Info: Used for findings that do not directly affect security posture but might indicate areas for improvement in documentation, communication, or proactive risk management practices.

If specific conditions for these risks are not detailed in the README, it can be inferred that critical and high risks would typically involve significant deviations from recommended practices, while lower risks might pertain to minor infractions or non-critical issues.

Example Findings:

“The latest security advisory indicates a patch was released over six months after vulnerability disclosure, posing a risk of prolonged exposure.”
“Documentation accompanying patches for CVE-2023-12345 is inadequate, lacking clear explanations and steps to mitigate the issue.”