System security vulnerabilities, also known as system weaknesses, refer to defects and deficiencies in the hardware, software, protocol design, specific implementation, and system security policies of a computer system.
System vulnerabilities are relative to system security. From a broad perspective, any factor that can potentially affect or compromise the security of a system can be considered a system security vulnerability. The existence of security vulnerabilities allows unauthorized users to exploit these vulnerabilities to gain certain system privileges and perform illegal operations, leading to security incidents. The goal of vulnerability detection is to proactively discover and patch vulnerabilities before they are exploited. In this article, the author shares several methods of detecting vulnerabilities based on their own practical experience.
Vulnerability detection can be divided into detecting known vulnerabilities and detecting unknown vulnerabilities. The detection of known vulnerabilities is mainly done through security scanning techniques to detect whether the system has publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities. On the other hand, the purpose of detecting unknown vulnerabilities is to discover vulnerabilities that may exist in software systems but have not been discovered yet. Existing techniques for detecting unknown vulnerabilities include source code scanning, disassembly scanning, and environment error injection. Source code scanning and disassembly scanning are both static vulnerability detection techniques that analyze potential vulnerabilities in the program without running the software program. Environment error injection, on the other hand, is a dynamic vulnerability detection technique that uses executable programs to test for vulnerabilities and is a mature software vulnerability detection technique.
Security Scanning:Security scanning, also known as vulnerability assessment, involves simulating black-hat attacks to systematically detect potential known security vulnerabilities in various targets such as workstations, servers, switches, databases, etc.
So far, security scanning technology has become quite mature. Security scanning techniques can be broadly classified into two categories: host-based security scanning and network-based security scanning. Based on the scanning process, scanning techniques can be further divided into four categories: Ping scanning, port scanning, operating system detection scanning, and known vulnerability scanning.
Security scanning plays an increasingly important role in ensuring network security. With the help of scanning techniques, people can discover open ports, services provided, certain system information, erroneous configurations, known security vulnerabilities, and more on networks and hosts. System administrators can use security scanning techniques to identify weak points that could be exploited by attackers and take measures to strengthen the security of networks and hosts. At the same time, attackers can also use security scanning techniques to explore potential entry points in network and host systems. However, the actions of attackers also contribute to enhancing network and host security because vulnerabilities objectively exist but have not been discovered yet. Once a vulnerability is discovered and exploited by attackers, it can also be recognized by security professionals.
A security scanner is a program that automatically detects security vulnerabilities in remote or local hosts by collecting system information. It performs a step-by-step check for potential known security vulnerabilities using simulated attacks. The targets can include workstations, servers, switches, databases, and various other objects. In general, security scanners provide comprehensive and reliable security analysis reports to system administrators based on the scan results, providing important information for improving the overall level of network security.
The nature of a security scanner determines that it is not a program that directly attacks security vulnerabilities. Instead, it helps us identify weaknesses in target hosts. A good security scanner can analyze the detected data and assist in finding security vulnerabilities in the target host, providing corresponding recommendations.
The above content is shared by InsightSec. We hope it can be helpful to everyone. Stay tuned for more updates and information from us!