Software-based System Vulnerability

A Software-based System Vulnerability is a system vulnerability for a software-based system.

• AKA: Software System Security Flaw.
• Context:
  • It can range from being a Minor Software System Vulnerability that may cause negligible security risks to being a Major Software System Vulnerability that can lead to critical system breaches or operational shutdowns.
  • It can range from being a Legacy System Vulnerability affecting outdated technology to being a Cloud System Vulnerability emerging in modern, continuously deployed systems.
  • It can range from being a Known System Vulnerability with available patches to being a Zero-Day Vulnerability that remains undiscovered or unpatched by the system's developers.
  • It can be exploited by a Software System Security Exploit, often leading to significant security breaches.
  • It can be detected by systems like a Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) System through real-time scanning.
  • It can be a central concern in Information Security Management (ISM), influencing security policies and risk assessments.
  • It can be evaluated through an Information Technology Security Assessment to determine its potential impact on organizational systems.
  • It can trigger a Zero-Day Attack when an attacker exploits the vulnerability before a patch is available.
  • It can be a primary target for detection in a Threat Detection process designed to identify and mitigate potential security threats.
  • It can result from improper configuration, unpatched software, or code-level bugs in a Software-Based System.
  • It can be managed by tasks like Software Vulnerability Recognition Task or mitigated through a Software Vulnerability Analysis Task to assess and patch vulnerabilities.
  • It can lead to financial, operational, or reputational damage when left unaddressed.
  • It can be identified and addressed as part of the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) Contest (2023-2025), which promotes innovation in cybersecurity solutions.
  • It can affect both outdated and modern platforms, including legacy systems like Internet Explorer (1995-2021) and contemporary systems like iOS Jailbreaking tools.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Zero-Day Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by Zero-Day Attacks), where the vulnerability is unknown to developers and lacks available patches.
  • LLM-based System Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by LLM-based System Attacks), such as Prompt Injection Vulnerabilities in language models like GPT-4.
  • Spectre Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by speculative execution attacks), which affect modern processors by leveraging speculative execution to access privileged data.
  • Meltdown Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by side-channel attacks), which affect CPU memory isolation, allowing attackers to read sensitive data from memory.
  • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by XSS Attacks), where attackers inject malicious code into web applications, often leading to unauthorized data access.
  • SQL Injection Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by SQL Injection Attacks), which manipulate SQL queries to gain unauthorized access to databases and extract sensitive information.
  • Legacy System Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by Legacy System Exploits), which affect outdated or unpatched software that remains in use.
  • Cloud System Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by Cloud-based System Attacks), which arise in cloud environments, particularly in shared infrastructure or misconfigured cloud services.
  • LLM-based System Vulnerabilities (that can be exploited by Prompt Injection Attacks), where attackers manipulate language models to produce malicious or unintended outputs.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Tax Vulnerability that refers to financial loopholes, not related to software security.
  • a Legal Vulnerability within contract law, which does not apply to technical systems.
  • a Hardware Vulnerability that affects physical components, rather than software-based systems.
• See: Computer Security, Hacker (Computer Security), Information Assurance, Attack Surface, Vulnerability Management, Exploit (Computer Security), Security Bug, Security Defect, DARPA AIxCC, Threat Detection, Information Technology Security Assessment.

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References

2018

• (Wikipedia, 2018) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulnerability_(computing) Retrieved:2018-1-11.
  • In computer security, a vulnerability is a weakness which allows an attacker to reduce a system's information assurance. Vulnerabilities are the intersection of three elements: a system susceptibility or flaw, attacker access to the flaw, and attacker capability to exploit the flaw. To exploit a vulnerability, an attacker must have at least one applicable tool or technique that can connect to a system weakness. In this frame, vulnerability is also known as the attack surface. Vulnerability management is the cyclical practice of identifying, classifying, remediating, and mitigating vulnerabilities. This practice generally refers to software vulnerabilities in computing systems.

    A security risk may be classified as a vulnerability. The use of vulnerability with the same meaning of risk can lead to confusion. The risk is tied to the potential of a significant loss. Then there are vulnerabilities without risk: for example when the affected asset has no value. A vulnerability with one or more known instances of working and fully implemented attacks is classified as an exploitable vulnerability  — a vulnerability for which an exploit exists. The window of vulnerability is the time from when the security hole was introduced or manifested in deployed software, to when access was removed, a security fix was available/deployed, or the attacker was disabled — see zero-day attack.

     Security bug (security defect) is a narrower concept: there are vulnerabilities that are not related to software: hardware, site, personnel vulnerabilities are examples of vulnerabilities that are not software security bugs.

    Constructs in programming languages that are difficult to use properly can be a large source of vulnerabilities.

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