Data suggests that an unpatched vulnerability causes 60% of data breaches. Vulnerabilities provide gateways for attackers to do their bidding – from orchestrating attacks to injecting malicious payload to account takeover. The key to increasing the security posture and reducing cyber risk is to include regular vulnerability scanning as part of the robust application security strategy.
What is Vulnerability Scanning?
Vulnerability scanning identifies exploitable weaknesses, gaps, flaws, and misconfigurations in the environment – applications, systems, networks, endpoints, and the IT infrastructure – that create entry points for threat actors to leverage and abuse.
Website vulnerability scanning is the first step towards effective vulnerability management and enables understanding the baseline of the organization’s security risks.
Vulnerability Scanning Vs. Vulnerability Assessment
Website vulnerability scanning and assessment are often confused but are different terms. Scanning discovers vulnerabilities and is an integral part of vulnerability assessments.
Vulnerability assessments use findings from scanning, pen tests, and audits to analyze vulnerabilities and prioritize them based on the severity and risks involved.
It is important to note that scanning does not involve exploiting these vulnerabilities to observe their behavior.
Penetration testing involves simulated attacks to assess the effectiveness of security controls and discover potential weaknesses that may not be detected by automated scans alone. Both are essential components of a robust cybersecurity strategy.
Check out our vulnerability scanning vs pen testing blog that explores their methodologies, scopes, and critical differences in detail.
How Does Vulnerability Scanning Work?
The scanning involves using automated tools to discover potential weaknesses attackers could exploit.
This way, the web app vulnerability scanner enables you to ensure that every nook and cranny of the website is analyzed and vulnerabilities, if any, are identified.
Here’s an overview of how the vulnerability scanning process typically works:
Asset Discovery
Your scan will be incomplete without an updated asset inventory. Asset discovery throws light on your entire attack surface and is a critical first step in vulnerability scanning.
Vulnerability scanners regularly crawl the website to identify and catalog all the assets within a network or system that must be assessed for potential vulnerabilities. Check out the power of asset discovery in Indusface WAS.
Enumeration
Once the systems are identified, the vulnerability scanner tries to gather more information about them, such as open ports, services running on those ports, and other relevant details. This helps in understanding the potential attack surface.
Vulnerability Detection
The scanner then searches for known vulnerabilities in the identified systems and applications. It compares the gathered information against a database of known vulnerabilities. This database is regularly updated to include information on the latest security issues.
Assessment
The vulnerabilities detected are often categorized based on severity, allowing organizations to prioritize their remediation efforts. Common vulnerability scoring systems (CVSS) may assign a numerical score to vulnerabilities, helping organizations prioritize and address the most critical issues first.
Reporting
Vulnerability scanners generate reports that provide detailed information about the vulnerabilities found, including their severity, potential impact, and recommended remediation steps. These reports help security teams understand the security posture of their systems and prioritize actions.
Remediation
Once vulnerabilities are identified, organizations can take steps to remediate or mitigate the risks. This may involve applying patches, reconfiguring systems, updating software, or implementing other security measures.
Continuous Monitoring
Security is ongoing, and vulnerabilities can emerge over time. Therefore, regular vulnerability scans are essential to maintain an up-to-date understanding of the security posture of a system or network.
How frequently should vulnerability scans be performed? Find the answer in this video.
5 Steps of Vulnerability Scanning Best Practices
Scan Regularly, Assure Zero False Positives
Web vulnerability scanning must be done daily and after significant changes to the website, business policies, or business logic for continued and heightened security. Choose a vulnerability scanner that assures zero false positives and allows you to request false-positive checks to ensure that developers’ bandwidth is not wasted on remediating something that is not (or not yet) a threat.
Automate Scanning for Precision and Speed
Websites and web applications are evolving rapidly for a competitive edge. However, this also means they have many parts and rely on third-party elements, increasing the risk of security issues.
Cyber attackers are quick to exploit vulnerabilities using advanced technology. Manual vulnerability scanning lacks the speed and precision needed in this fast-changing environment. It’s a slow and labor-intensive process, prone to errors and inefficiencies. Businesses using manual scanning often struggle to update their tools, making regular scanning less effective.
The automated scanner uses self-learning and a global threat intelligence database to learn from past attack patterns and ensures that all known vulnerabilities are identified effectively.
Comprehensively Scan All Connected Systems
Vulnerabilities in servers, web development frameworks, content management systems, etc., directly impact the security posture of the application/ website.
So, ensure that your scanning tool does not limit itself to the website/ web application or main system but provides:
- Visibility into the other related systems
- Configuration errors
- Loopholes
- Weaknesses that affect your website
Systematic Risk Evaluation
Vulnerability scanning may provide a long list of vulnerabilities and threats to the developers, overwhelming them. However, not all vulnerabilities and threats are critical or high risk. Risk evaluation is crucial in prioritizing risks based on potential impact and criticality.
Bundle with Comprehensive Security Solutions
To increase the website’s security posture, vulnerability scanning must be part of a comprehensive, dynamic, and robust security solution, as scanning only reveals the baseline of security risks and known vulnerabilities.
Scanning tools must be integrated with an intelligent and managed WAF for instant remediation. The tools need to provide security analytics to tune the scanner and WAF further to strengthen security.
To strengthen security, penetration testing, and security audits must be conducted to reveal unknown vulnerabilities, business logic flaws, and other underlying weaknesses.
Such a solution should be custom-built and backed 24×7 by certified security experts. AppTrana is one such comprehensive, managed security solution.
What are the Types of Vulnerability Scanning?
Vulnerability scanning can be classified based on the following operational approaches:
Environment
External Vulnerability Scanning
External vulnerability scanning involves assessing the security of an organization’s external-facing assets, such as websites, servers, and network infrastructure visible to the public internet.
This type of scan mimics the perspective of an external attacker attempting to exploit vulnerabilities without any internal network access. It helps identify weaknesses that cybercriminals could exploit to breach the perimeter defenses.
Internal Vulnerability Scanning
Internal vulnerability scanning focuses on evaluating the security posture of devices within the organization’s internal network.
This type of scan is crucial for identifying vulnerabilities that might be exploited by insiders or attackers who have already breached external defenses.
Internal scanning provides insights into potential organizational threats, including misconfigurations, outdated software, and unauthorized access.
Access Level Privilege
Authenticated Vulnerability Scanning
Authenticated vulnerability scanning requires valid credentials to access the systems being scanned. This type of scan provides a higher level of accuracy as it allows the scanner to simulate an insider’s view, closely mirroring the access that a legitimate user or system administrator would have.
Authenticated scans effectively uncover vulnerabilities that may not be visible to unauthenticated scans, such as configuration issues, missing patches, or insecure settings.
Unauthenticated Vulnerability Scanning
Unauthenticated vulnerability scanning occurs without the use of valid credentials. This approach simulates an external attacker’s perspective, attempting to identify vulnerabilities visible without logging in.
While unauthenticated scans are quicker and less resource-intensive, they may not uncover specific vulnerabilities that require authenticated access. Unauthenticated scans are valuable for quickly assessing external-facing systems but may not provide a complete picture of internal security.
Scope of Device Scanned
Limited Scope Vulnerability Scanning
Limited-scope vulnerability scanning targets specific devices or network segments based on predefined criteria.
Organizations may choose this approach due to resource constraints, compliance requirements, or the need to focus on critical assets.
Limited-scope scans are valuable for targeted assessments, allowing organizations to prioritize and address vulnerabilities in high-priority systems.
Comprehensive Scope Vulnerability Scanning
Comprehensive scope vulnerability scanning involves evaluating various devices and systems across the network infrastructure.
This approach provides a holistic view of the organization’s security posture, identifying vulnerabilities in critical and less critical assets.
While comprehensive scans offer a thorough assessment, they may require more time, resources, and careful planning to cover the attack surface effectively.
What are the Benefits of Vulnerability Scanning?
Here are some key reasons why vulnerability scanning is essential:
Early Detection of Weaknesses
Vulnerability scanners identify potential weaknesses and security flaws in systems and networks before malicious actors can exploit them. This early detection allows organizations to address issues and prevent security breaches proactively.
Risk Mitigation
Organizations can prioritize and mitigate risks by regularly scanning and identifying vulnerabilities. This helps reduce the likelihood of security incidents and the associated impact on data, operations, and reputation.
Compliance and Regulations
Many industries and regulatory bodies require organizations to adhere to specific cybersecurity standards and practices. Regular vulnerability scanning helps ensure compliance with these regulations, avoiding potential legal consequences and fines.
Protection of Sensitive Data
Vulnerability scanners help protect sensitive information by identifying and addressing potential entry points for cyber threats. This is crucial in safeguarding customer data, intellectual property, and other critical assets.
Time and Cost Savings
Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities early in the development or implementation process is more cost-effective than dealing with the aftermath of a security breach. Vulnerability scanners help organizations save time and resources by addressing issues before they escalate.
Enhanced Security Posture
Continuous vulnerability scanning contributes to an organization’s overall security posture. It provides insights into the effectiveness of existing security measures and helps make informed decisions to strengthen defenses.
Demonstration of Due Diligence
Regular vulnerability scanning demonstrates an organization’s commitment to cybersecurity and due diligence. This can be crucial in building trust with customers, partners, and other stakeholders who rely on the security of the organization’s systems.
Given the vulnerability scanning process is critical to website security, you must choose the best tool. Explore the essential features of vulnerability scanning tools while making your choice.
Vulnerability Scanning with Indusface WAS
Indusface WAS protects against known vulnerabilities and malware threats. Its broad coverage, encompassing the OWASP Top 10, WASC vulnerabilities, and malware risks, ensures a resilient defense for digital assets.
The flexibility of the scanning options, including the ability to request scans after significant changes, aligns seamlessly with agile development practices, enabling security to keep pace with rapid software updates.
Indusface WAS’s commitment to precision is evident in its zero false positive guarantees, preventing organizations from expending valuable resources on remediation efforts for non-existent vulnerabilities.
Moreover, its authenticated scanning feature and asset discovery functionality ensure a thorough examination of web applications, even uncovering vulnerabilities that may only be visible with valid credentials.
Combined with penetration testing and security audits, it enables businesses to detect business logic flaws.
Indusface WAS is a valuable ally in the ongoing battle for cybersecurity, providing organizations with the tools to navigate the complex and ever-changing threat landscape.
