What Are Open Source Vulnerabilities?

What is an open source vulnerability?

An open source vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access to a system or network to cause damage or manipulate it in some way. Vulnerabilities are not intentional but can leave a system vulnerable to attack.

Two things typically cause a vulnerability:

• Oversights from developers.

• Programming errors.

Vulnerabilities don’t only affect developers unwittingly using compromised components. They also place customers using compromised software at a heightened risk of a data breach or supply chain attack. These zero-day exploits are called a Common Vulnerability Exposure (CVE).

Are open source vulnerabilities and malware the same thing?

A vulnerability is not malware. While cybercriminals might leverage open source vulnerabilities in their attacks, OSS vulnerabilities are not part of an intentional effort from the attacker. Malware, on the other hand, is a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of software applications and the IT infrastructure.

It’s critical to understand the differences between malware and vulnerabilities as the urgency, response, and defense tactics used will be different. Consider for a second that your software supply chain is a home. Vulnerabilities in open source software can be likened to an open door, where intruders can take advantage and come in. Malware on the other hand, would be if an intruder was already inside your home. One is a potential weakness, while the other is an immediate threat.

Real-world examples of software vulnerabilities

Bad actors can take advantage of vulnerabilities in open source software. The following examples explore incidents that originated from vulnerable open source software components. 

Heartbleed vulnerability

The Heartbleed vulnerability (CVE-2014-0160) was identified in the OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This critical vulnerability was exploited by bad actors in April 2014, where they took advantage of a vulnerable component in the Transport Layer Security (TLS) Heartbeat extension, exposing sensitive data like private encryption keys, usernames, and passwords.

Log4Shell vulnerability 

The CVE-2021-44228 vulnerability, commonly referred to as Log4Shell, impacted the Log4j open source logging framework. Bad actors exploited the open source vulnerability by dispatching unique log messages, enabling them to execute harmful code remotely. The vulnerability greatly impacted organizations on a global scale and continues to pose significant risks years later.

Spring4Shell vulnerability

The CVE-2022-22965 vulnerability impacted the popular Spring Framework, which is used in many Java applications. Spring4Shell was classified as a zero-day vulnerability and was exploited by bad actors before a fix could be released. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for organizations to prioritize continuous monitoring and timely application security patches. 

It also underscores the dynamic nature of open source software security risks associated. Staying informed about OSS vulnerabilities and adopting a proactive approach to security can significantly mitigate risks and protect critical applications from exploitation.

Open source software security risks

Bad actors exploit vulnerabilities in open source software for many different reasons. They range from theft and extortion to sabotage and espionage. The consequences to the target are always negative. Undetected OSS vulnerabilities put businesses at risk of :

• Data breaches

• System compromise

• Malware infections

• Service disruption

• Financial loss

• Reputation damage

• Loss of intellectual property

How do I identify an open source vulnerability?

Once a vulnerability is publicly disclosed, it is assigned a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score and added to several publicly available databases. The two best ways to identify vulnerabilities include

1. Generate a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for your application. This is a concise list of all the components in a project, including the ones brought in by direct dependencies. It can be used by some tools to look for vulnerabilities–or improve the accuracy of results–and makes it easier to identify if an application contains a vulnerability.

2. Check the application against data sources. Open source vulnerabilities get reported and aggregate by a number of different public and private databases.

It’s important to note that not all vulnerabilities receive public disclosure. Furthermore, disclosure is often delayed to give package maintainers time to patch the vulnerability before announcing a weakness in their users’ application security.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools are a more comprehensive way to access proprietary vulnerability data without waiting for public disclosures.

How do I evaluate an open source vulnerability’s risk to my organization?

Vulnerabilities are constantly being discovered, and there is no blanket fix–each one is unique. A best practice is to decide which risks your organization can tolerate. When making an assessment, consider the following

Impact

How bad would it be if your organization’s application was attacked using the vulnerability?

Example: Any vulnerability that gives an attacker access to additional data is a big risk for an application that processes payments. But it might not be as risky on an application that only stores email addresses.

Exploitability

How easy is it to execute the vulnerability? OSS vulnerabilities that require more work to exploit are lower risk than those that are easy to take advantage of.

Aspects to consider:

• Required permissions.

• Level of access.

• Overall complexity

Cost

Fixing a vulnerability takes money and a good amount of developers’ time. The cost of addressing an open source vulnerability largely depends on the available remediation methods. 

In many cases, the vulnerable component can be upgraded to a compatible patched version. When there isn’t a compatible version available, an organization will be forced to switch libraries or patch the components themselves. Both require a lot of work and resources that not everyone has.

Is there an easy way to assess open source vulnerabilities?

The simplest way to stay on top of identifying vulnerabilities that affect your applications is to automate the process as much as possible.

Open source vulnerability management best practices include:

• Using SBOMs.

• Accessing open source components via a centralized artifact repository manager.

• Using a repository firewall to stop vulnerable software before it enters your software supply chain.

• Creating groups of applications based on their various risk tolerance levels.

If these tools and practices above are in place, it’s possible to efficiently assess a vulnerability’s risk and reduce the impact of OSS vulnerabilities on your business. Automation eliminates wasting time and resources manually checking each application to determine if they need remediation.