Average Zero-day Bug Lifespan

Via Network World -

The average zero-day bug has a lifespan of 348 days before it is discovered or patched, but some vulnerabilities live on for much longer, according to security vendor Immunity's CEO.

Zero-day bugs are vulnerabilities that have not been patched or made public. When discovered and not disclosed, these bugs can be used by hackers and criminals to break into corporate systems to steal or change data. As a result, there is a thriving market for zero-day bugs.

Huge amounts of money are being offering to zero-day discoverers for their zero-days," said Justine Aitel, Immunity's CEO, speaking in Singapore at the SyScan '07 security conference.

Immunity, which buys but does not disclose zero-day bugs, keeps tabs on how long the bugs it buys last before they are made public or patched. While the average bug has a lifespan of 348 days, the shortest-lived bugs are made public in 99 days. Those with the longest lifespan remain undetected for 1,080 days, or nearly three years, Aitel said.

"Bugs die when they go public, and they die when they get patched," she said.

To protect their data, security executives need to dig out the zero-day bugs in their systems, Aitel said, noting that this is an area most companies ignore.

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Justine is right. Most companies do ignore the possibility of dangerous zero-days sitting on their network....some companies aren't aware of the danger, others companies are smart enough to understand that judging the risk of undiscovered zero-days is like judging the risk of the next huge meteor impact - its very hard. That doesn't mean that people shouldn't try.

As a security professional, I have some experience in discovering bugs in enterprise class software...sometimes it is easy (think enterprise web applications) and sometimes it is very hard (properly installed encryption architectures).

It all depends on how deep in the zero-day rabbit hole you want to go...

It isn't cheap to conduct internal and external security assessments with the purpose of digging out the deepest of zero-day bugs. The run-of-the-mill Nessus-scan Pen-test isn't going to cut it, digging out serious zero-day bugs in enterprise software take talent and sometimes a large amount of time. Both of which cost a pretty penny.

Therefore only the largest companies that have the most to lose can afford it - governments, international financial groups, defense contractors, etc.

With that being said, companies with a fair amount of buying power can turn the odds in their favor. Instead of just buying the cheapest enterprise software solution....ask the vendor if they have had security assessments conducted against their products. If they have, ask if you can see them. Ask them about their own internal security policies & secure coding practices as well.

It is your money....afterall.