System Compromise Investigation: Identifying Exploited Vulnerability
Question
A security analyst is investigating a system compromise.
The analyst verifies the system was up to date on OS patches at the time of the compromise.
Which of the following describes the type of vulnerability that was MOST likely exploited?
Answers
Explanations
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A. B. C. D.D.
If the system was up to date on OS patches at the time of the compromise, it means that the attacker did not exploit a known vulnerability that has already been fixed by the vendor through a patch. Therefore, the most likely type of vulnerability that was exploited is a zero-day vulnerability, which is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor and has no available patch or mitigation at the time of the attack.
Insider threat refers to an attack or data breach that is caused by an authorized user within the organization who has access to sensitive information or systems. This is not the most likely scenario based on the information provided in the question.
Buffer overflow refers to a type of vulnerability that occurs when a program tries to write more data to a buffer than it can hold, which can cause the program to crash or allow an attacker to execute malicious code. While buffer overflows are a common type of vulnerability, the fact that the system was up to date on OS patches suggests that this was not the cause of the compromise.
Advanced persistent threat (APT) refers to a sophisticated and prolonged attack that is typically carried out by a nation-state or other highly skilled and well-resourced attacker. While an APT may involve the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities, the fact that the system was up to date on OS patches suggests that this was not the cause of the compromise.
Therefore, the most likely type of vulnerability that was exploited is a zero-day vulnerability.
