All Hands Memo to Owners of Home / Small Office Routers: Reboot Them!

This last week or so of May has been busy with security news and incidents, as the FBI put out an unprecedented call to do a massive wave of reboots of home and small office routers, while Intel confirmed the existence of yet another Spectre / Meltdown variant. And, yes, we had yet another...

QSC 2022: Qualys’ Threat Research Unit (TRU) – Our Shield Is Your Shield

Day two of QSC profiled the special launch of the Qualys Threat Research Unit, TRU. Taking the audience through a madcap tour of what the threat research unit is doing to provide intelligence and actionable insights into its census was Travis Smith, VP of Qualys Threat Research Unit. He dove deep...

Integrating JIRA to the Qualys Cloud Platform

This is the second in a blog series on integrations to the Qualys Cloud Platform. This post looks at what are the requirements to build a successful integration and workarounds when some of the pieces are missing functionality. We then specifically consider the question of integrated Qualys with...

Qualys Policy Compliance Notification: Policy Library Update

Qualys’ library of built-in policies makes it easy to comply with the security standards and regulations that are most commonly used and adhered to. Qualys provides a wide range of policies, including many that have been certified by CIS as well as the ones based on security guidelines from OS an...

The January 2023 Patch Tuesday Security Update Review

As we enter the first second Tuesday of the year, it is noteworthy that both Microsoft and Adobe have released their latest security updates and fixes. We invite you to join us as we review and discuss the particulars of these essential security patches. Microsoft Patches for January 2023 Microso...

Identifying Let’s Encrypt Revoked Certificates

Let's Encrypt is a free, automated, open certificate authority CA run for the public's benefit as a service from the Internet Security Research Group ISRG. It provides free digital certificates to enable HTTPS SSL/TLS for websites via user-friendly means. Earlier this week, Let's Encrypt announce...

Qualys Cloud Platform (VM, PC) 8.19.1 New Features

This new release of the Qualys Cloud Platform VM, PC, version 8.19.1, includes newly added technology support for HP Safeguard and CISCO ACS 5, collected via Qualys Out-of-Band Configuration Assessment. Feature Highlights Qualys Policy Compliance PC New Technology Support - Qualys now supports th...

Qualys Cloud Platform 2.37 New Features

This release of the Qualys Cloud Platform version 2.37 includes updates and new features for Security Assessment Questionnaire and Web Application Scanning, highlights as follows. Security Assessment Questionnaire Manager access to all active campaigns – Questionnaire Manager role now has access ...

Policy Compliance Adds UDC Support for Cloud Agent

Qualys is extending the Cloud Agent capabilities for users of the Policy Compliance PC application by letting them define controls. Until now, the Cloud Agent could only assess Qualys PC’s “out of the box” controls. By adding support for user defined controls UDC, Qualys PC users now can use Clou...

QSC18 Day 1 Takeaway: Continuous Transformation Demands Continuous Security

The first day of Qualys Security Conference 2018 was a big one. Both CEO Philippe Courtot and Qualys chief product officer Sumedh Thakar detailed the challenges faced by many of today’s enterprises when it comes to the growth of cloud and the complexity of their hybrid environments. And they shar...

TLS 1.0 Deprecation for Qualys Cloud Platform

Qualys will require all connections to our Cloud Platform to use TLS 1.1 or higher beginning April 2nd 2018, in order to align with industry best practices for security and data integrity. Please ensure that you are using TLSv1.1+, or your connectivity to the Cloud Platform will be impacted. This...

Microsoft and Adobe Patch Tuesday, November 2023 Security Update Review

Microsoft released its second last Patch Tuesday edition of the year. We invite you to join us to review and discuss the details of these security updates and patches. Microsoft Patch Tuesday for November 2023 In this months Patch Tuesday edition, Microsoft has addressed a total of 75...

Introducing Qualys Threat Research Thursdays

Welcome to the first edition of the Qualys Research Team’s “Threat Research Thursday” where we collect and curate notable new tools, techniques, procedures, threat intelligence, cybersecurity news, malware attacks, and more. We will endeavor to issue these update reports regularly, as often as...

Risk-based Remediation Powered by Patch Management in Qualys VMDR 2.0

According to the recently released Verizon DBIR report, vulnerability exploitation continued to be one of the top three attack vectors exploited by bad actors in 2021 to break into organizations. As of this writing, it’s only June, but more than 10,000 vulnerabilities have already been disclosed ...

Actionable Searching and Data Download with Vulnerability Management Dashboards

Qualys is introducing the ability to download data from your vulnerability management dashboards. With Qualys Vulnerability Management Dashboards, you can use Qualys Query Language QQL to query the data in your subscription and build vulnerability- and asset-centric dashboards that show your...

Qualys Cloud Platform 8.22 New Features (VM, PC)

Update December 11, 2019: See additional details about this release. The 8.22.0 release adds several new features in Qualys Cloud Platform, adds a new API in Policy Compliance and support for 2 new technologies for OCA. Feature Highlights Qualys Cloud Platform Support for DNS tracking – You can n...

Integrating Threat and Vulnerability Management with Patch Management: The (Feasible) Quantum Leap

The rise of sophisticated attacks combined with the security-skills shortage have driven many organizations to go back to basics and review their processes for vulnerability and patch management. The approach is definitely a winning one, given that shrinking and managing the vulnerability surface...

Microsoft and Adobe Patch Tuesday April 2023 Security Update Review

Microsoft released security updates to address 114 vulnerabilities in the April Patch Tuesday edition. The security advisories cover various vulnerabilities in different products, features, and roles. Lets know more about this months Patch Tuesday details. Microsoft Patch Tuesday for April 2023...

OpenSSL Vulnerability Recap

Last week a CRITICAL vulnerability in OpenSSL was pre-announced to give organizations a head start in coming up with a playbook for how to address the highest severity OpenSSL vulnerability since Heartbleed in 2014. A lot of effort was put in by vendors and organizations alike to come up with a...

Discover A10 Networks Advanced Core OS Vulnerabilities using Qualys VMDR

The Qualys vulnerability signatures team has released a new series of signatures detections for A10 Networks ACOS Advanced Core Operating System, allowing security teams to identify A10 hosts and detect their vulnerabilities. A10 Advanced Core Operating System with true Scalable Symmetrical...

Qualys Cloud Platform 8.21.7 New Features

Update November 27, 2019: The features referenced in this blog post will be released in Qualys Cloud Platform release 8.22. Update November 19, 2019: The features referenced in this blog post will be released in the next Qualys Cloud Platform release scheduled for December 2019, and will be...

Qualys Policy Compliance Notification: Policy Library Update

Qualys’ library of built-in policies makes it easy to comply with the security standards and regulations that are most commonly used and adhered to. Qualys provides a wide range of policies, including many that have been certified by CIS as well as the ones based on security guidelines from OS an...

January Patch Tuesday – Meltdown/Spectre, 16 Critical Microsoft Patches, 1 Adobe Patch

Due to the disclosure of Meltdown and Spectre, Microsoft released several patches last week with the ranking "Important." While there are no active attacks against these vulnerabilities, a special focus should be placed on any of the browser patches, due to potential attacks using JavaScript. It ...

Get Weekends Back: Put Chrome CVEs like CVE-2024-5274 on Auto-Patching

On May 9th, Google released an emergency update for its Chrome browser to patch a critical zero-day vulnerability, CVE-2024-4671. The "use after free" vulnerability affects the Visuals component of Chrome, which is responsible for rendering and displaying content. CVE-2024-4671 was identified and...

Qualys API Best Practices: Policy Compliance – Posture Streaming (PCRS) API

This API Best Practices Series is designed for Qualys customer programmers or stakeholders with a general knowledge of programming who want to implement best practices for improving the development, design, and performance of their programs that use the Qualys API. For non-customers, the Qualys A...

The December 2022 Patch Tuesday Security Update Review

Welcome to the final second Tuesday of the year. As expected, Microsoft and Adobe have released their latest security updates and fixes. Take a break from your holiday preparations and join us as we review the details of the latest security patches. Microsoft Patches for December 2022 In this...

NSO Pegasus iPhone Spyware Vulnerabilities Fixed by Apple – Detect & Prioritize Using VMDR for Mobile Devices

Apple recently released iOS and iPadOS 12.5.5, 15.0, which includes a security update that addresses almost 25 vulnerabilities, including several critical RCE and privilege escalation vulnerabilities. In 12.5.5, Apple fixed 3 critical zero-day vulnerabilities, which are used to deploy NSO Pegasus...

Qualys Research Team: Threat Thursdays, October 2022

Welcome to the third edition of the Qualys Research Team’s “Threat Research Thursday”, where we collect and curate notable new tools, techniques, procedures, threat intelligence, cybersecurity news, malware attacks, and more. Feedback on our second edition, Qualys Threat Research Thursday, is mor...

Qualys Cloud Platform (VM, PC) 8.21 New Features

This new release of the Qualys Cloud Platform VM, PC, version 8.21, adds new technologies and platforms, and support for scanning ESXi hosts on vCenter for vulnerabilities. Feature Highlights Qualys Vulnerability Management VM Support for Scanning ESXi Hosts on vCenter for Vulnerabilities – Qualy...

Qualys Cloud Platform (VM, PC) 8.13 New Features

This new release of the Qualys Cloud Platform VM, PC, version 8.13, includes several new feature improvements across the apps such as the ability to test authentication records, as well as improvements to UDC’s and report options in Qualys Policy Compliance. Feature Highlights Qualys Cloud Platfo...

Meltdown / Spectre: New Concerns Over Intel Patches, as Hackers Test Exploits

This week brought new developments in the Meltdown / Spectre saga, including more concerns about Intel’s buggy patches, and mounting evidence that hackers are trying to create exploits for the vulnerabilities. It seemed that after weeks of complaints and confusion, Intel’s issue had hit bottom an...

Countdown to Black Hat: Top 10 Sessions to Attend — #1

Black Hat USA 2019 offers a packed and impressive lineup of research briefings and hands-on training courses for the 19,000-plus security pros expected to attend this year’s event. The training sessions provide both offensive and defensive skills that security pros can use to tackle critical...

Security News: Bluetooth Bug Triggers Patch Frenzy, as Ransomware Attack Hits Global Shipper

A scary Bluetooth bug. A crippling ransomware attack. A cyber threat to the U.S. electrical grid. A data leak of trade secrets from major car makers such as Tesla and GM. These were some of the security industry news that caught our eye last week. Bluetooth vulnerability rattles vendors, end user...

Get Emerging Threats Visibility with Qualys IOC Widgets

Two new built-in widgets for detecting the GravityRAT and GhostSecret advanced threats are now available in Qualys Indication of Compromise IOC. These threats are of specific concern as they target industries like finance, entertainment, telecommunication and healthcare and have capability to...

Qualys API Best Practices: CyberSecurity Asset Management API

The Qualys Security Blog’s API Best Practices Series is designed for Qualys customer programmers or stakeholders with a general knowledge of programming who want to implement best practices to improve development, design, and performance of their programs that use the Qualys API. For non-customer...

GDPR Is Here: Assess Risk from Vendors and from Internal Teams

Organizations must manage risk from third parties such as contractors and suppliers, and from internal staffers and teams, as part of their compliance program for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation GDPR. The need to manage vendor risk in particular is stressed repeatedly throughout the...

Introducing the Qualys New Look and Positioning

Dear Customer, Partner and Security Professional, I would like to thank all of you for your support during our ongoing journey to a world where we are making security invisible and an integrated component of the Digital Transformation of our enterprises. With your help and the dedication of our...

Qualys Cloud Suite 8.10 New Features

This new release of the Qualys Cloud Suite, version 8.10, includes new capabilities and improvements to for VM, PC and shared platform improvements: Authentication Vault integration with BeyondTrust Mandate-Based reporting for Policy Compliance to simplify reporting against multiple mandates and...

Microsoft and Adobe Patch Tuesday, August 2024 Security Update Review

Microsoft’s August Patch Tuesday updates are out, and they address a range of vulnerabilities across multiple products. Let’s dive into the key updates and their implications. Microsoft Patch Tuesday for August 2024 Microsoft Patchs Tuesday, August 2024 edition addressed 102 vulnerabilities,...

Qualys API Best Practices: Web Application Scanning API

This API Best Practices Series is designed for Qualys customer programmers or stakeholders with a general knowledge of programming who want to implement best practices for improving the development, design, and performance of their programs that use the Qualys API. For non-customers, the Qualys A...

Forta GoAnywhere Zero-Day Exploited By Threat Actors

On February 1st, 2023, Forta released an advisory behind an auth wall notifying their customers of a remote code execution zero-day exploit affecting their GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer MFT application. This was picked up by Brian Krebs, an investigative journalist who published this on his...

Qualys Research Wins Two 2021 Pwnie Awards

The Qualys Research team won two Pwnie Awards today at Black Hat USA 2021 for discovering and responsibly disclosing these new vulnerabilities: Best Privilege Escalation Bug and Most Under-Hyped Research. The Qualys Research team received these awards: Best Privilege Escalation Bug Heap-based...

Detecting Insecure Cookies with Qualys Web Application Scanning

Cookies are ubiquitous in today's modern web applications. If an attacker can acquire a user's session cookie by exploiting a cross-site scripting XSS vulnerability, by sniffing an unencrypted HTTP connection, or by some other means, then they can potentially hijack a user's valid session...

Securing Containers in Google Cloud Artifact Registry with Qualys

Container software supply chain is an area of concern for security teams in large and small enterprises because developers often make use of container images from a variety of public repositories. A single insecure container image can be instantiated several times and lead to a wide, diffused...

Welcome to Qualys Security Conference 2018

The rise of cloud computing coupled with DevOps is forcing enterprises to rewrite their cybersecurity playbook, and part of that book will be written this week at Qualys Security Conference 2018 in Las Vegas. Today, the dual cloud and DevOps mega-trends are helping companies to digitally transfor...

Visualizing Spectre/Meltdown Impact and Remediation Progress

In order to determine the impact of Spectre/Meltdown and track remediation progress across your entire environment, it is important to visualize vulnerability detections in a dynamic dashboard. For more information on Spectre and Meltdown, please see our previous blog. Using Qualys AssetView, we...

QID Spotlight: Enhanced Oracle Java Discovery

Update December 15, 2020: This blog is updated with the FAQ section for customers to get more insight into QID details. Original Post: Securing Java instances has become critical for organizations because Javas wide use as an open-source component in applications has made it a captivating target...

Implementing the CIS 20 Critical Security Controls: Slash Risk of Cyber Attacks by 85%

If a CISO needed to cut cyber attack risk by 85%, how would this security chief go about accomplishing that? Would the CISO even know where to begin? It’s safe to say that such a mandate would be considered daunting, and maybe even overwhelming. CISOs are scrambling to protect IT infrastructures...

Qualys TRU Uncovers Five Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities in needrestart

The Qualys Threat Research Unit TRU has identified five Local Privilege Escalation LPE vulnerabilities within the needrestart component, which is installed by default on Ubuntu Server. These vulnerabilities can be exploited by any unprivileged user to gain full root access without requiring user...

Atlassian Confluence Broken Access Control Vulnerability (CVE-2023-22515)

Atlassian issued an Advisory on October 4, 2023, for CVE-2023-22515, a critical severity vulnerability affecting Confluence Server and Data Center. According to the advisory, the vulnerability was initially published as a Privilege Escalation vulnerability but was later updated to a Broken Access...