Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

If you read the newest risk-based vulnerability management literature, it appears we have a new favorite punching bag: the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). You seemingly can’t throw a rock into the “vuln-o-sphere” without hitting someone dunking on CVSS or the National Vulnerability Database (NVD). The argument goes something like this: “Exploitation rates are up, ransomware is surging, and vulnerabilities are multiplying like rabbits.

The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) introduces a much-needed framework for standardizing the cybersecurity practices of companies operating in the European Union (EU). The regulation sets clear expectations for hardware and software manufacturers, developers, and distributors, outlining how they should manage and address vulnerabilities at every stage of the product lifecycle.

A vulnerability assessment systematically evaluates the security of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, aiming to uncover potential flaws. This process not only identifies weaknesses but also provides a roadmap for addressing these vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious actors. Through a series of structured steps, including identification, classification, analysis, and remediation, organisations can significantly enhance their cyber security posture.

On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, a set of vulnerabilities were announced that affect the “rsync” utility. Rsync allows files and directories to be flexibly transferred locally and remotely. It is often used for deployments and backup purposes. In total, 6 vulnerabilities were announced to the OSS Security mailing list. The most severe vulnerability, CVE-2024-12084, may result in remote code execution. This post will cover how to detect and mitigate CVE-2024-12084.

Organizations need to be watchful and vigilant with their cyber space because cyber threats keep on evolving. And, in fact, urgency is provided by the security update of January 2025 from Microsoft, which patches at least 161 vulnerabilities, including three zero-day flaws actively exploited in the wild.

Note: These vulnerabilities remain under active exploitation and Kroll experts are investigating. If further details are uncovered by our team, updates will be made to the Kroll Cyber Risk blog. A critical authentication bypass vulnerability (CWE-288) affecting FortiOS and FortiProxy (FG-IR-24-535) allows remote attackers to obtain super admin privileges via Node.js WebSocket traffic.

Defenders often discuss security vulnerabilities on GitHub, Stack overflow, X (formerly Twitter), and other platforms to share knowledge of these threats and ensure users know when patches are available. Cybercriminals have a similar process, choosing to share vulnerability news, exploit code, and engage in technical discussions on cybercriminal forums. However, in contrast to defenders, these threat actors share this knowledge for the purpose finding unpatched systems and exploiting them.

On January 14, 2025, Fortinet disclosed a new critical (CVSS 9.6) authentication bypass vulnerability affecting FortiOS and FortiProxy. This vulnerability, CVE-2024-55591, allows unauthenticated remote attackers to target the Node.js WebSocket module of the administrative interface and potentially gain super-admin privileges.