What Are Software Vulnerabilities?

When it comes to a hacker’s mindset, there are definitely some reliable go-to favorites that have shown to be a great ROI or Return on Investment where hacking (breaking into systems) is concerned. First of all, the bad guys love the use of malicious software or malware for the end goal of either profit, control or dominance. Likewise, hackers absolutely love to exploit software vulnerabilities for those same reasons, also popularly referred to as ‘exploits.’ Since software vulnerabilities are very common and can be exploited by cybercriminals, the cybersecurity community is constantly grappling with new approaches to try and seal off security gaps. Software vulnerabilities can be either benign or malicious, depending on if they have been (or have the potential to be) publicly exploited by threat actors a.k.a hackers/cybercriminals.

What Is a Software Vulnerability?

A software vulnerability is, in a way, self-explanatory. It is literally a vulnerability that is found in software. You may ask, what does it mean when software is vulnerable? How come vulnerabilities in software exist? Shouldn’t software be checked before it is released? What happens when software vulnerabilities are exploited? By whom are they exploited? Am I in danger? Well, all of these are excellent questions.

A software vulnerability is a problem in software, specifically a potential security problem in the code or script that the software was written with. It can also be a problem like that related to an external extension or third-party component of the source software. So, in general this is an issue with the design/coding of the software.

Software vulnerabilities have been found in practically all software known to man by security researchers and developers who then post their findings on online databases or notify the company itself. Oftentimes, internal security researchers and developers find these vulnerabilities themselves. The world’s biggest tech companies and software vendors have never been immune to software vulnerabilities; including the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Google even all the way up to government cybersecurity solutions and intelligence software. If an external threat such as a threat actor/cybercriminal is able to exploit these flaws for wrongdoings, this can spell big trouble for the owner of the software and the wider network, most importantly it can compromise the security of all of the customers of the software. An attacker can also craft his or her own custom code and form an exploit.

Examples of Software Vulnerabilities

Software vulnerabilities can be categorized as either local or remote, and can come in the following types (to name a few);

• Arbitrary Code Execution
• SQL Injection/Command Injection
• Buffer Overflows
• Improper Input Validation
• Use-after-free
• Read/Write flaw scenarios

A local vulnerability can be used for privilege escalation on a system, while remote vulnerabilities can fall victim to remote code execution (remote shell.)

None of the above scenarios are pleasant, and definitely not something a security researcher or developer wants to find. Depending on the severity or risk level of software vulnerabilities, they can be exploited by cybercriminals/hackers to attack systems by leveraging these vulnerabilities e.g. executing malicious software via a remote shell, for instance. A hacker can completely compromise, shutdown a system or steal information from any location, he or she does not have to be physically present on-site to be able to do this.

How to Protect Yourself From Software Vulnerabilities

The highest amount of pressure always falls on developers who have to code and test any software for potential vulnerabilities. There are secure coding practices and strict monitoring policies for software but mistakes are bound to happen because of the human error component. No software is perfect because no developer exists that codes perfectly. Secondly, if a vulnerability is discovered a professional organization will patch it (fix and update) as quickly as possible, ideally. For instance, if a Buffer Overflow or Remote Code Execution vulnerability was discovered affecting Windows or iOS on October 11th that could spell trouble for users, the organization should as quickly as humanly possible seal the gaps and release a public fix to protect its customers. Customers can then either manually download the fix, depending on the types of software, or the system will detect a patch release and automatically urge the user to update.

Responsibility Falls to the End-User

At the end of the day, software vulnerabilities have existed and have been exploited since the existence of software itself. Think of it as a design flaw or error in your car that is always a possibility, which you then bring to the dealer or service to fix for you, or the carmaker may recall the cars for a wider issue. The same goes for software vulnerabilities. Since humans are not perfect, and when so much pressure is put on developers to quickly release loads of software, mistakes and overlooks will undoubtedly happen. On a final note, it is always good practice to use premium anti-malware software on your device, use a premium VPN for network obfuscation and always, always keep all of your devices updated to the latest official manufacturer-recommended releases.