Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed is a Medium risk vulnerability that is one of the most frequently found on networks around the world. This issue has been around since at least 1990 but has proven either difficult to detect, difficult to resolve or prone to being overlooked entirely.
| Vulnerability Name: | SSL Certificate is a Self Signed |
|---|---|
| Test ID: | 12726 |
| Risk: | Medium |
| Category: | Encryption and Authentication |
| Type: | Attack |
| Summary: | The certificate is a self-signed one. |
| Solution: | Make sure your certificate authority provides you with a valid, authentic certificate for this server. |
Scanning For and Finding Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed
Use of Vulnerability Management tools, like Fortra Vulnerability Management (Fortra VM), are standard practice for the discovery of this vulnerability. The primary failure of VA in finding this vulnerability is related to setting the proper scope and frequency of network scans. It is vital that the broadest range of hosts (active IPs) possible are scanned and that scanning is done frequently. We recommend weekly.
Penetration Testing (pentest) for this Vulnerability
The Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed is prone to false positive reports by most vulnerability assessment solutions. Fortra VM uses behavior based testing that eliminates this issue. For all other VA tools security consultants will recommend confirmation by direct observation. In any case Penetration testing procedures for discovery of Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed produces the highest discovery accuracy rate, but the infrequency of this expensive form of testing degrades its value. The ideal would be to have pentesting accuracy and the frequency and scope possibilities of VA solutions.
Security Updates on Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed
Given that this is one of the most frequently found vulnerabilities, there is ample information regarding mitigation online and very good reason to get it fixed. Hackers are also aware that this is a frequently found vulnerability and so its discovery and repair is that much more important. It is so well known and common that any network that has it present and unmitigated indicates “low hanging fruit” to attackers.
Disclosures related to this vulnerability
False positive/negatives
The secret killer of VA solution value is the false positive. There was an industry wide race to find the most vulnerabilities, including Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed, and this resulted in benefit to poorly written tests that beef up scan reports by adding a high percentage of uncertainty. This may have sold a lot of systems some years ago, but it also stuck almost all VA solutions with deliberately inaccurate reporting that adds time to repairs that no administrator can afford. Fortra did not participate in this race to mutually assured destruction of the industry and to this day produces the most accurate and actionable reports available.
Patching/Repairing this Vulnerability
Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed is a Medium risk vulnerability that is also high frequency and high visibility. This is the most severe combination of security factors that exists and it is extremely important to find it on your network and fix it as soon as possible.
Exploits related to Vulnerabilities in SSL Certificate is a Self Signed
https://docs.digicert.com/certificate-tools/discovery-user-guide/
https://www.digicert.com/blog/the-true-cost-of-self-signed-ssl-certificates
Fortra VM can scan tens of thousands of IPs in large environments with segmented or distributed networks, and generate remediation tickets when vulnerabilities are found — and then track them within the system.