Vulnerability scanning concepts
A vulnerability scanner is a passive scanner that identifies vulnerabilities or weaknesses on the system. For example, there could be missing updates for the operating system, anti-virus solutions, or there could be only one administrator account on the system. Microsoft has a vulnerability scanning tool called the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA). A zero day exploit cannot be traced by a vulnerability scanner; it has not yet been identified and has no updates or patches available.
Let's look at the type of output a vulnerability scanner could produce:
- False positive: A false positive is where the scan believes that there is a vulnerability but when you physically check it is not there.
- False negative: A false negative on the other hand is more dangerous as there is a vulnerability but the scanner does not detect it. An example of a false negative is a zero day exploit that is attacking the system without there being a way of detecting it.
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