Facebook Google Plus Twitter LinkedIn YouTube RSS Menu Search Resource - BlogResource - WebinarResource - ReportResource - Eventicons_066 icons_067icons_068icons_069icons_070

Tenable Blog

Subscribe

Tales Of Zero-Day Disclosure: Tenable Researchers Reveal Recommendations for a Successful Experience

Real life stories of vulnerability discovery and disclosure from Tenable’s Zero Day Research team offer guidance you can use to refine your organization's policies.

Imagine a situation where you spot something wrong or dangerous. You report it to the person responsible, and you’d expect a positive response, a ‘thank you’ and a presumption that it is going to be fixed. In cybersecurity, it’s not that straightforward unfortunately.

The concept of discovering and disclosing vulnerabilities is a major part of the regular cycle of how cybersecurity operates. The process of discovery and disclosure of vulnerabilities has been a standard process of bringing researchers and vendors together to acknowledge what has been found, and to ensure the flaws are fixed and users will be better protected.

Sounds simple? For the most part it is that easy, but there are still too many instances where the circle is not complete, and the vendor and researcher cannot find the connection point. 

While facilities and services such as bug bounty brokers have come along to aid researchers in their work in recent years, the responsibility still remains on zero day investigators to inform companies where their vulnerabilities are.

A new whitepaper from Tenable’s Zero Day Research team details challenging experiences from various cases of vulnerability disclosures. Taken from the team’s experiences during the past few years, the stories include examples of vendor resistance such as:

  • claims from other vendors that the vulnerability is unsubstantiated or not in scope;
  • a notified vendor being openly hostile towards the researchers; and
  • a notified vendor becoming increasingly hostile throughout the disclosure process. 

Nobody wants to be the recipient of a zero-day vulnerability notice, as this can put developers and security teams on the defensive, and that does not aid anyone in resolving the issue.

Oftentimes, researchers struggle to determine the correct person to report the vulnerability to. Disagreements can often ensue over disclosure policies, processes and timing. The white paper discusses how these and other challenges can delay the process, potentially leaving organizations exposed to unpatched vulnerabilities, and suggests ways in which organizations can improve their working relationships with zero day researchers. 

For Tenable’s Zero Day Research team, each and every security-related bug disclosure is its own unique adventure. In this white paper, we look at examples of where vulnerability disclosure was not welcomed by the recipient, where there were clashes and why they happened, and what organizations can do to work better with researchers.

Learn More:

Related Articles

Cybersecurity News You Can Use

Enter your email and never miss timely alerts and security guidance from the experts at Tenable.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Try Tenable Web App Scanning

Enjoy full access to our latest web application scanning offering designed for modern applications as part of the Tenable One Exposure Management platform. Safely scan your entire online portfolio for vulnerabilities with a high degree of accuracy without heavy manual effort or disruption to critical web applications. Sign up now.

Your Tenable Web App Scanning trial also includes Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Lumin.

Buy Tenable Web App Scanning

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

5 FQDNs

$3,578

Buy Now

Try Tenable Lumin

Visualize and explore your exposure management, track risk reduction over time and benchmark against your peers with Tenable Lumin.

Your Tenable Lumin trial also includes Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Buy Tenable Lumin

Contact a Sales Representative to see how Tenable Lumin can help you gain insight across your entire organization and manage cyber risk.

Try Tenable Nessus Professional Free

FREE FOR 7 DAYS

Tenable Nessus is the most comprehensive vulnerability scanner on the market today.

NEW - Tenable Nessus Expert
Now Available

Nessus Expert adds even more features, including external attack surface scanning, and the ability to add domains and scan cloud infrastructure. Click here to Try Nessus Expert.

Fill out the form below to continue with a Nessus Pro Trial.

Buy Tenable Nessus Professional

Tenable Nessus is the most comprehensive vulnerability scanner on the market today. Tenable Nessus Professional will help automate the vulnerability scanning process, save time in your compliance cycles and allow you to engage your IT team.

Buy a multi-year license and save. Add Advanced Support for access to phone, community and chat support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Select Your License

Buy a multi-year license and save.

Add Support and Training

Try Tenable Nessus Expert Free

FREE FOR 7 DAYS

Built for the modern attack surface, Nessus Expert enables you to see more and protect your organization from vulnerabilities from IT to the cloud.

Already have Tenable Nessus Professional?
Upgrade to Nessus Expert free for 7 days.

Buy Tenable Nessus Expert

Built for the modern attack surface, Nessus Expert enables you to see more and protect your organization from vulnerabilities from IT to the cloud.

Select Your License

Buy a multi-year license and save more.

Add Support and Training