Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE)
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) is a standardized naming system for publicly known information security vulnerabilities. Think of it as a dictionary for security flaws. Each CVE entry provides a unique identifier, a standardized description, and often references to other related security information.
Here's a breakdown of its key aspects:
Standardized Identifiers: CVE assigns a unique identifier (CVE ID) to each vulnerability. This ID allows security professionals to unambiguously refer to a specific flaw, regardless of the vendor or tool they are using. The format is typically "CVE-year-number" (e.g., CVE-2023-12345).
Publicly Known Vulnerabilities: CVE focuses on vulnerabilities that are publicly known. This means that the flaw has been disclosed to the security community by the vendor, a security researcher, or an attacker exploiting it in the wild.
Information Sharing: CVE aims to facilitate information sharing across the cybersecurity ecosystem. A common language for vulnerabilities helps vendors, security researchers, and users communicate more effectively about security issues.
Foundation for Security Tools: CVE IDs are widely used by security tools and databases. Vulnerability scanners, intrusion detection systems, and security advisories often reference CVEs to provide context and information about the vulnerabilities they detect or address.
Scope: CVE covers a wide range of vulnerabilities in various types of software and hardware, including operating systems, applications, network devices, and industrial control systems.
In essence, CVE provides a crucial foundation for vulnerability management by enabling the consistent identification and tracking of security flaws. It plays a vital role in helping organizations understand their security risks and prioritize remediation efforts.
ThreatNG and CVEs
ThreatNG incorporates CVEs to provide detailed vulnerability information, enhancing situational awareness and risk management.
DarCache Vulnerability: This repository is a core component of ThreatNG's vulnerability intelligence. It uses CVEs as a fundamental element to provide information on vulnerabilities.
NVD (DarCache NVD): ThreatNG uses the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), which is CVE-compatible, to provide details such as Attack Complexity, Attack Interaction, Attack Vector, Impact scores (Availability, Confidentiality, Integrity), CVSS Score, and Severity. This information helps users understand each vulnerability's technical characteristics and potential impact.
KEV (DarCache KEV): ThreatNG includes the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, identifying CVEs actively exploited in the wild. This information is crucial for prioritizing remediation efforts.
Verified Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Exploits (DarCache eXploit): ThreatNG provides direct links to Proof-of-Concept (PoC) exploits, often on platforms like GitHub, which include CVE references. This connection helps security teams understand how a vulnerability can be exploited.
2. How ThreatNG Uses CVEs Across Modules
External Discovery: ThreatNG's external discovery identifies vulnerable assets. CVEs become relevant when these assets (e.g., web servers, applications) are assessed for known vulnerabilities.
Example: ThreatNG discovers a web server running a specific version of Apache. The assessment modules then check for known CVEs associated with that Apache version.
External Assessment: ThreatNG's assessment modules use CVEs to provide context and severity information for identified vulnerabilities.
Example: A web application's assessment might reveal the use of a library with a high-severity CVE. ThreatNG would report the CVE ID, CVSS score, and potential impact.
Reporting: ThreatNG's reports use CVEs to communicate vulnerability information clearly and consistently.
Example: A report might list all identified vulnerabilities with their corresponding CVE IDs, making it easy for security teams to research and prioritize remediation.
Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG's continuous monitoring can track the emergence of new CVEs that affect an organization's external assets.
Example: If a new CVE is published for a web server software, ThreatNG can alert the security team if that software is detected in their environment.
Investigation Modules: ThreatNG's investigation modules use CVEs to provide detailed vulnerability information during threat hunting and incident response.
Example: During an investigation, analysts can use CVE IDs to quickly find information about exploited vulnerabilities and understand the attacker's methods.
3. Synergies with Complementary Solutions
Vulnerability Management Solutions: ThreatNG's CVE data can complement internal vulnerability scans. ThreatNG focuses on the external attack surface, while internal scanners focus on internal systems. Combining these provides a more complete vulnerability picture.
SIEM Systems: SIEMs can use CVEs from ThreatNG to correlate external vulnerability data with internal security events. This can improve the detection of attacks that exploit known vulnerabilities.
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs): TIPs can ingest ThreatNG's vulnerability data, including CVE information, to enrich their threat feeds and provide more context to security analysts.
