MITRE Reveals Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Vulnerabilities

MITRE has unveiled an updated list of the 25 most dangerous software vulnerabilities identified among 31,770 CVE entries from June 2023 to June 2024. These vulnerabilities can lead to critical failures, enabling attackers to gain control over systems, steal sensitive data, and launch denial-of-service attacks.

The primary weaknesses in software stem from flaws in coding, architecture, and design. MITRE emphasizes that such issues are often easily detectable and exploitable, making them a significant threat to systems. This year’s rankings are based on an analysis of vulnerabilities included in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

CISA highlights that prioritizing these issues allows developers to prevent vulnerabilities during the software development phase. The list underscores severe threats such as Cross-Site Scripting (CWE-79), Out-of-Bounds Write (CWE-787), and SQL Injection (CWE-89).

The importance of addressing known vulnerabilities was also stressed. For instance, last month, the Five Eyes cybersecurity alliance released a joint report revealing that most commonly exploited vulnerabilities in 2023 were associated with zero-day attacks, where the vulnerabilities were known but remained unpatched.

Special attention in the report is given to resolving issues related to default passwords, improper authentication, and operating system command execution. CISA strongly advocates adopting “Secure by Design” principles to eliminate such vulnerabilities at the design stage.

Alongside the rankings, MITRE underscores the necessity of revisiting cybersecurity investments and strategies. Doing so not only mitigates risks but also enhances the resilience of IT systems in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats.