CISA Detects Many New Cyber Security Vulnerabilities

Cyber security issues are becoming a day-to-day issue for businesses, and the latest cyber security statistics reveal a huge increase in hacked and breached data. Attacks are now increasingly common in the workplace on mobile and IoT devices.

“Organisations around the world responded to the threat of COVID-19 by implementing stay-at-home policies. This resulted in a dramatic increase in employees collaborating using Microsoft Office 365 and other cloud-based software, while also accessing more resources through company VPNs.,” according to the 2021 Data Risk Report from Varonis.

“The abrupt nature of this transition forced many companies to step into the cloud without proper cyber security preparedness, inadvertently increasing their attack surface as employees logged in through unsecured networks and home computers... The risk increases exponentially when companies have obvious gaps like passwords that never expire and folders containing sensitive data open to every employee.” Varonis said.

Now, the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) has added 36 new flaws to its catalog of vulnerabilities that are known to be exploited by cyber criminals. Flaws in Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Cisco, Netgear, QNAP and other products have been added to known exploited vulnerabilities catalog.

“CISA has added 36 new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risk to the federal enterprise."

The CISA Alert warns that the vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious attackers and pose "significant risk". Organisations, particularly those associated with the US federal government, are urged to apply security updates as soon as possible.

"CISA strongly urges all organisations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritising timely remediation of catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice," said CISA.

Among the 36 vulnerabilities that have been added are vulnerabilities in software and products from Microsoft, Google, Adoble, Cisco, Netgear, QNAP and others. 

• Microsoft:    Vulnerabilities in Microsoft products include CVE-2012-4969, a vulnerability in Internet Explorer that allows remote execution of code, and CVE-2013-1331, a buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office that allows cyber criminals to launch remote attacks.

CVE-2012-0151, a flaw in the Authenticode Signature Verification function in Microsoft Windows that allows user-assisted attackers to execute remote code, has also been added to the catalog.

• Google:   The CISA alert also addresses several vulnerabilities in Google's Chromium V8 Engine, including CVE-2016-1646 and CVE-2016-5198, which allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service, as well as flaws like CVE-2018-17463 and CVE-2017-5070, which, if left unpatched, allow attackers to remotely execute code that they could exploit to access networks.

• Adobe:   Several vulnerabilities in Adobe software have been added to the catalog, including CVE-2009-4324, a flaw in Adobe Acrobat and Reader, which allows remote attackers to execute code via a crafted PDF file, and CVE-2010-1297, a memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player that allows remote attackers to execute code or cause denial of service.

• Netgear:   Several flaws in routers and other Internet connected devices have also been added to CISA's catalog, including CVE-2017-6862, which is a buffer overflow vulnerability in multiple Netgear devices that allows for authentication bypass and remote code execution, and CVE-2019-15271, a flaw in Cisco RV series routers that could allow an attacker to execute code with root privileges.

CISA also warns about a number of vulnerabilities in QNAP products, including CVE-2019-7192, a flaw in QNAP Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices running Photo Station, which contains an improper access control vulnerability allowing remote attackers to gain unauthorised access to the system. 

The full list of all 36 vulnerabilities is detailed in CISA’s known exploited vulnerabilities catalog.and CISA strongly advise users to promptly apply updated patches as the best ways to stay protected from cyber attacks.

CISA:      CISA:      National Cybersecurity News:     ZDNet:      Varonis:     Forbes:  

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