GHOST in Linux

The newest high profile vulnerability is the GNU C Library (“glibc”) vulnerability, dubbed “GHOST” by the media. Organizations should take a proactive approach to patching these high profile vulnerabilities. This dashboard helps identify vulnerable systems using several methods of identification.  

The dashboard and its components are available in the SecurityCenter Feed, a comprehensive collection of dashboards, reports, assurance report cards and assets. The dashboard can be easily located in the SecurityCenter Feed under the category Security Industry Trends.

The dashboard requirements are:

• SecurityCenter 4.8.2
• Nessus 6.1.1

The dashboard uses three methods of identifying vulnerable systems. The first, and most accurate, method uses the CVE-2015-0235 filter to identify the systems scanned with newly released plugins. The second method searches the Software Enumeration (SSH), plugin 22869, for the affected libraries. The final method searches the plugin names for the string “glibc”. Using all three methods, the analysts will be able to identify vulnerable system even if they cannot be scanned immediately.  

The components that make up this dashboard display vulnerable systems using several tables and charts. The first component reflects the status of glibc related patches. The matrix is comprised of 3 rows showing currently vulnerability counts detected with glibc and CVE-2015-0235. The third row shows the number of patched systems by monitoring the remediation database for the vulnerabilities with CVE-2015-0235. There are three table components. Two tables use the CVE filter, while the third table uses SSH to enumerate installed software packages. The pie chart provides a summary view using plugin families. The bar chart highlights the networks with glibc vulnerabilities. 

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GHOST in *nux - Patch Applied Status Matrix: This component provides a matrix of the glibc patches, by comparing the vulnerabilities detected using plugin name, against the vulnerabilities detected with CVE-2015-0235. The first row looks over data that has been previously collected by using the glibc in the plugin name. The seconds row, searches vulnerability data using the CVE-2015-0235, this is confirmed to be vulnerable to GHOST. The last row provides the counts of patched GHOST vulnerabilities by searching the remediation database for CVE-2015-0235.

GHOST in *nux - GHOST Vulnerabilities: This table provides a list of the vulnerabilities detected using CVE-2015-0235. These vulnerabilities are confirmed to be vulnerable to GHOST. The table displays the plugin name, plugin family, severity, and total vulnerabilities detected. The data is sorted by vulnerability total in descending order.

GHOST in *nux - Vulnerable Hosts: This table provides a list of the vulnerable hosts detected using CVE-2015-0235. These hosts are confirmed to be vulnerable to GHOST. The table displays the IP address, FQDN, and operating system. The data is sorted by FQDN in descending order.

GHOST in *nux - Software Enumeration (glibc): The table provides a list of hosts known to have glibc installed using the software enumeration plugin. Due to the several methodologies used in software enumeration and vulnerability detection, this component uses a different method to identify systems that may be vulnerable to GHOST. The Software Enumeration (SSH) plugin, plugin ID 22869, analyzes the system and attempts to extract all the software packages that are installed.  This method of vulnerability detection can be effective as a validation of vulnerable software present or to validate if the applicable patches have been applied.

GHOST in *nux - Affected Plugin Families: This chart provides a list of the plugin families with glibc vulnerabilities. The plugin family summary provides users with high-level view of the affected operating systems and applications. The chart is sorted using the total vulnerabilities in descending order.

GHOST in *nux - Subnets with glibc: The chart provides a list of the top 10 subnets with vulnerabilities related to glibc. Presenting data in this manner allows analysts to see the subnets at the most risk so that remediation efforts can be prioritized. The bars represent the total hosts with a glibc vulnerability, and bars are sorted in descending order.