A Closer Look: Differentiating Software Vulnerabilities and Malware

In today’s interconnected digital world, vulnerabilities and malware in open source software pose significant threats to the security and integrity of your software supply chain. While these two terms may appear synonymous at first glance, you should know their fundamental differences. They are two distinct yet closely related aspects of cybersecurity.

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In the context of open source software, vulnerabilities refer to security flaws that can be exploited, while malware concerns malicious components that intentionally insert harmful code into open source projects.

This blog post sheds light on the dissimilarities between software vulnerabilities and malicious open source, highlighting their unique characteristics, means of exploitation, and impact in open source software.

Software vulnerability: A flaw in the code

A software vulnerability is akin to a flaw in code, much like a faulty lock on a door. However, unlike malware, vulnerabilities are not intentional. Instead, they represent weaknesses in software components or projects.

Similar to how a faulty lock compromises the security of a building by allowing unauthorized access, a software vulnerability creates a gap in the software’s security perimeter. This gap becomes an entry point for intruders to exploit, gaining unapproved access to the system, application, or component.

Much like how an intruder can bypass a faulty lock to enter a building without a key, threat actors exploit vulnerabilities to compromise the software. This exploitation can result in severe consequences, such as surreptitious data access, injection of malicious code, or disruption of the software’s intended functionality.

Vulnerabilities can exist in various software components, such as: 

• operating systems
• applications
• libraries
• plugins

Typically, vulnerabilities originate from coding errors, design flaws, or inadequate security measures during software development. Once identified, vulnerabilities typically receive a special identifier number from the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program. This CVE number serves as a shorthand reference for tracking (Read more...)