Lumension® Endpoint Management and Security Suite:
Patch and Remediation

Mitigating IT Risk from Third Party Application Vulnerabilities

As the use of non-Microsoft, third party applications and software has increased in the workplace, so has the risk to organizations' IT environments. Most organizations today take at least twice as long to patch third-party application vulnerabilities than they do to patch operating system vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals have taken notice of this and are leveraging vulnerabilities in third party applications as new attack vectors ways into organizational networks.

Today more than 2 million malware signatures are identified each month - and that number is expected to grow. Increasingly cyber criminals are focusing their efforts on exploiting existing and known 'critical' vulnerabilities¹ . Even vulnerabilities that have existed for quite some time continue to be exploited by malware – many of these are non-Microsoft third party applications.

Top Vulnerabilities Most Exploited by Malware

Vulnerability	Disclosed	Patched
1. Microsoft Internet Explorer RDS ActiveX	2006	2006
2. Office Web Components Active Script Execution	2002	2002
3. Microsoft Video Streaming (DirectShow) ActiveX Vulnerability	2007	2009
4. Real Player IERPCtl Remote Code Execution	2007	2007
5. Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader CollectEmailInfo	2007	2008
6. Adobe Reader GetIcon JavaScript Method Buffer Overflow	2009	2009
7 Adobe Reader util.print() JavaScript Func() Stack Overflow	2008	2008
8. Microsoft Internet Explorer Deleted Object Event Handling	2010	2010
9. Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer ActiveX Control	2008	2008
10. Adobe Reader media.newPlayer	2009	2009
11. Microsoft Internet Explorer (OE) iepeers.dll	2010	2010
12. BaoFeng StormPlayer Buffer Overflow	2009	2009
13. JVM Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities	2009	2009
14. Microsoft IE STYLE Object Invalid Pointer Reference	2009	2009
15. Java WebStart Arbitrary Command Line Injection	2010	2010

Patching and configuration management are central components of a depth-in-defense approach that minimizes the risk of cybercriminals exploiting vulnerabilities for financial gain. By leveraging patch and configuration management solutions, organizations can mitigate the majority of their IT risk. But not every patch management solution is equal.

There are "free" stand-alone patch tools and native software updaters available, but these point technologies require more administrative burden – and they only mitigate a subset of vulnerabilities. The breadth of patch content supported by varies widely across patching products. Compare the coverage's and ensure that your provider can support your application and operating system vulnerability management requirements.

By implementing a patch management solution that automates policy baselines across OS and 3rd party applications, IT can more effectively reduce risk across the entire organization. Ideally the patch management solution is offered as part of a comprehensive endpoint management and security suite that can integrate with other capabilities such as application control/ whitelisting and anti-virus, through an integrated approach to patch and overall endpoint management. IT can deliver a more effective endpoint security strategy while also improving operational efficiencies.

Shifting to Defense-in-Depth

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