2.3 Types of Vulnerabilities

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Application

Vulnerabilities related to software applications that can be exploited.

Memory Injection

A type of vulnerability where attackers inject malicious code into the memory of an application.

Example: Exploiting a memory injection vulnerability to execute arbitrary code in an application's memory space.

flowchart subgraph MemoryInjection box -->|Exploiting memory injection| MemoryInjectionAttack end

Buffer Overflow

A vulnerability that occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of an allocated buffer.

Example: Triggering a buffer overflow to overwrite a program's memory and gain unauthorized access.

flowchart subgraph BufferOverflow box -->|Exploiting buffer overflow| BufferOverflowAttack end

Race Conditions

Vulnerabilities that result from the timing or sequencing of events in a program or system.

Time-of-check (TOC)

A race condition where the checking of a condition and the execution of an action are separated in time.

Example: Exploiting a TOC race condition to gain unauthorized access during a time window.

flowchart subgraph TOCRaceCondition box -->|Exploiting TOC race condition| TOCRaceConditionAttack end

Time-of-use (TOU)

A race condition where an attacker alters data or conditions after the check but before the use.

Example: Manipulating data during the brief time between its check and use in a program.

flowchart subgraph TOURaceCondition box -->|Exploiting TOU race condition| TOURaceConditionAttack end

Malicious Update

A vulnerability where attackers can introduce malicious updates or changes to software.

Example: Inserting a malicious code update into a software package to compromise systems.

flowchart subgraph MaliciousUpdate box -->|Exploiting malicious update| MaliciousUpdateAttack end

Operating System (OS)-based

Vulnerabilities associated with the operating system that attackers can target.

Example: Exploiting an OS-based vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to a system.

flowchart subgraph OSVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting OS-based vulnerability| OSVulnerabilityAttack end

Web-based

Vulnerabilities that affect web applications and services, making them susceptible to exploitation.

Structured Query Language injection (SQLi)

A vulnerability that allows attackers to execute malicious SQL queries on a web application's database.

Example: Exploiting SQL injection to retrieve sensitive data from a vulnerable website's database.

flowchart subgraph SQLInjection box -->|Exploiting SQL injection| SQLInjectionAttack end

Cross-site scripting (XSS)

A vulnerability that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users.

Example: Executing a script on a website that affects other users and steals their information.

flowchart subgraph XSS box -->|Exploiting XSS| XSSAttack end

Hardware

Vulnerabilities associated with hardware components and devices.

Firmware

Vulnerabilities related to the software embedded in hardware devices.

Example: Exploiting a firmware vulnerability in a router to gain control over the device.

flowchart subgraph FirmwareVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting firmware vulnerability| FirmwareVulnerabilityAttack end

End-of-life

Vulnerabilities that arise when hardware devices reach the end of their supported lifespan.

Example: Targeting a network appliance that is no longer receiving security updates.

flowchart subgraph EndOfLifeVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting end-of-life vulnerability| EndOfLifeVulnerabilityAttack end

Legacy

Vulnerabilities associated with outdated or legacy hardware components.

Example: Exploiting security weaknesses in older hardware that lacks modern security features.

flowchart subgraph LegacyVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting legacy hardware vulnerability| LegacyVulnerabilityAttack end

Virtualization

Vulnerabilities related to virtualization technologies and environments.

Virtual machine (VM) escape

A vulnerability that allows an attacker to break out of a virtual machine and access the host system.

Example: Exploiting a VM escape vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to the host server.

flowchart subgraph VMEscape box -->|Exploiting VM escape vulnerability| VMEscapeAttack end

Resource reuse

Vulnerabilities that involve the improper reuse of virtualized resources.

Example: Unauthorized access to shared virtualized resources, leading to resource exhaustion.

flowchart subgraph ResourceReuse box -->|Exploiting resource reuse vulnerability| ResourceReuseAttack end

Cloud-specific

Vulnerabilities unique to cloud computing environments.

Example: Exploiting a security weakness in a cloud service configuration.

flowchart subgraph CloudSpecificVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting cloud-specific vulnerability| CloudSpecificVulnerabilityAttack end

Insecure API

Vulnerabilities related to insecure application programming interfaces (APIs) used in cloud services.

Example: Exploiting an insecure API to gain unauthorized access to cloud resources.

flowchart subgraph InsecureAPIVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting insecure API vulnerability| InsecureAPIVulnerabilityAttack end

Data Exposure

Vulnerabilities that lead to the unauthorized exposure or leakage of sensitive data in the cloud.

Example: Accessing confidential data due to misconfigured cloud storage settings.

flowchart subgraph DataExposureVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting data exposure vulnerability| DataExposureVulnerabilityAttack end

Identity and Access Management

Vulnerabilities related to misconfigured identity and access management controls in cloud environments.

Example: Unauthorized access due to weak authentication settings in cloud IAM.

flowchart subgraph IAMVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting IAM vulnerability| IAMVulnerabilityAttack end

Cloud Provider-specific

Vulnerabilities specific to certain cloud service providers and their configurations.

Example: Exploiting a vulnerability unique to a particular cloud provider's platform.

flowchart subgraph CloudProviderVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting cloud provider-specific vulnerability| CloudProviderVulnerabilityAttack end

Supply chain

Vulnerabilities associated with the supply chain, including service providers, hardware providers, and software providers.

Service provider

Vulnerabilities related to third-party service providers and their offerings.

Example: Exploiting a vulnerability in a cloud service offered by a third-party provider.

flowchart subgraph ServiceProviderVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting service provider vulnerability| ServiceProviderVulnerabilityAttack end

Hardware provider

Vulnerabilities related to hardware components supplied by third-party vendors.

Example: Exploiting a vulnerability in network hardware provided by an external vendor.

flowchart subgraph HardwareProviderVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting hardware provider vulnerability| HardwareProviderVulnerabilityAttack end

Software provider

Vulnerabilities related to software and applications supplied by external software providers.

Example: Exploiting a vulnerability in a third-party software application used by an organization.

flowchart subgraph SoftwareProviderVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting software provider vulnerability| SoftwareProviderVulnerabilityAttack end

Cryptographic

Vulnerabilities related to cryptographic techniques and implementations.

Example: Exploiting a cryptographic flaw in an encryption algorithm to decrypt sensitive data.

flowchart subgraph CryptographicVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting cryptographic vulnerability| CryptographicVulnerabilityAttack end

Misconfiguration

Vulnerabilities resulting from improper system or application configurations.

Example: Gaining unauthorized access to a system due to misconfigured access controls.

flowchart subgraph MisconfigurationVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting misconfiguration vulnerability| MisconfigurationVulnerabilityAttack end

Mobile device

Vulnerabilities specific to mobile devices and platforms.

Side loading

A vulnerability that allows the installation of apps from unofficial or untrusted sources.

Example: Exploiting sideloading vulnerabilities to install malicious apps on a mobile device.

flowchart subgraph SideLoadingVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting sideloading vulnerability| SideLoadingVulnerabilityAttack end

Jailbreaking

A vulnerability that allows users to remove software restrictions on mobile devices.

Example: Jailbreaking an iOS device to bypass Apple's security controls.

flowchart subgraph JailbreakingVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting jailbreaking vulnerability| JailbreakingVulnerabilityAttack end

Zero-day

Vulnerabilities that are unknown to the vendor and have no official patch.

Example: Exploiting a zero-day vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to a system.

flowchart subgraph ZeroDayVulnerabilities box -->|Exploiting zero-day vulnerability| ZeroDayVulnerabilityAttack end