Zero-Day Vulnerabilities and Attacks

1. Hidden Vulnerabilities in Software

Most operating systems and applications contain unknown vulnerabilities.
These vulnerabilities are not yet discovered by software vendors.
Eventually, vulnerabilities are discovered and need to be patched.

2. Who Finds Vulnerabilities?

Researchers: Discover flaws and report them to vendors.
Attackers: Actively search for flaws to exploit before patches are released.
Attackers want to discover vulnerabilities first to exploit them without detection.

3. Zero-Day Attacks

A zero-day attack occurs when a vulnerability is exploited before the vendor is aware of it.
No patch is available at the time of exploitation.
These attacks are highly dangerous because defenders are unaware of the flaw.

4. Patching Process

Once the security community becomes aware of the vulnerability, developers begin working on a patch.
Until a patch is released, systems remain at risk.
It is very difficult to defend against unknown threats.

5. Tracking Vulnerabilities

Visit CVE.mitre.org to track known vulnerabilities.
CVE = Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures.
Provides public records of known security issues and zero-day attacks.

6. Examples of Zero-Day Attacks (2023)

Date	Vendor	Issue	Description
April 2023	Google Chrome	Memory Corruption & Sandbox Escape	Allowed attackers to break isolation and potentially run code outside the browser sandbox.
May 2023	Microsoft	UEFI Secure Boot Bypass	Self-signed code was executed during the secure boot process.
May 2023	Apple (iOS/iPadOS)	Three Zero-Day Issues	Sandbox Escape Disclosure of Sensitive Information Arbitrary Code Execution

7. Importance of Timely Updates

Zero-day vulnerabilities are often actively exploited in the wild.
Vendors must respond quickly to minimize risk.
End users and administrators should apply patches as soon as they are released.