There will always be an IT admin team that consistently remediates vulnerabilities due to the possibility of security threats. The higher the number of vulnerabilities in an application, the greater the likelihood of security threats. And businesses need to remediate those vulnerabilities with a vulnerability management tool. in a timely manner. Here are a few software with the highest vulnerabilities reported every year, and pose significant difficulty in patching.
- Debian Linux
- Android
- Ubuntu Linux
- Mac OS X
- Microsoft Windows 10
- MS Office
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
Debian Linux:
It is also known as Debian GNU/Linux, composed of free and open-source software. It was developed by the community-supported Debian project. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kernel. The total number of vulnerabilities till now is 5673. In the year 2021, there were 703 vulnerabilities. The highest number of vulnerabilities was 1364 in 2018.
Android:
Android is a mobile operating system built on a modified version of Linux Kernel. It is designed especially for touchscreen mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Android is a free and open-source software commercially owned by Google. The total number of vulnerabilities in 2021 was 574, and the highest was 859 in 2020.
Ubuntu Linux:
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed of free and open-source software. It is a popular operating system for cloud computing. It is built on Debian’s architecture and comprises a Linux server. The total number of vulnerabilities reported in Ubuntu till now is 3090.
Mac OS X:
Mac OS X is a graphical operating system for Apples Mac computers, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the second most widely used desktop OS after Microsoft Windows. The total number of vulnerabilities reported till now is 2958. In the year 2021, the product reported 306 vulnerabilities.
Read: Automated Patching: A Sure Way to Deal with the Rising Rate of Vulnerabilities
Products that are Difficult to Patch
Every business organizations face enormous challenges while patching certain products. Modern applications are becoming so complex that it is impossible to check every possible attack vector without using an automated patch management tool. Several applications that are difficult to patch using the latest tools and technologies are as follows:
MS Office:
Microsoft office is a family of software developed by Microsoft; it contains Microsoft work, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, etc. Over the years, MS Office applications have grown significantly with various shared features. MS Office is the most targeted platform to carry out attacks. In 2019, Microsoft office became hackers’ preferred platform to carry out attacks. According to a report from SonicWall released in 2020, MS Office documents make up 22.4% of all malicious file types, compared to 10.7% for PDFs. Thus, it is challenging for the IT security team to minimize MS office from cyber-attacks using patch management or other methods.
Microsoft Windows 10 OS:
Windows 10 is a major release of Windows operating systems designed and developed by Microsoft. The operating system makes its user experience more consistent and overcomes the shortcomings of the Windows 8 interface. The product reported approximately 2,527 vulnerabilities till now. It has reported 485 vulnerabilities in the year 2021.
Adobe Acrobat Reader:
Acrobat reader is a family of application software developed by Adobe Inc. It is used to view, create, edit, print, and manage PDF(Portable Document Format) files. Adobe reader helps to modify the content of the paragraphs and images, crop the pages, change their order, and also digitally sign a pdf file, etc. This pdf reader is also considered difficult to patch as it allows a remote attacker to create a specially crafted PDF file, trick the user into opening it, and read memory contents on the system.
Source: SecPod labs
A Quick Way to Remediate using SanerNow
SanerNow is an integrated vulnerability management tool built on a cloud platform. IT admins can rely on SanerNow to patch vulnerabilities in a timely manner. It offers recommendations to IT Security experts with a comprehensive in-built vulnerability report. The platform helps receive the necessary patches from respective software owners and quickly remediate vulnerabilities.
SanerNow leverages the SCAP repository with more than 160,000 vulnerability checks and Patch repository to patch more than 300 third-party applications and major operating systems. SanerNow Vulnerability management is the most preferred choice over the challenges of patching software applications.
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