The Vulnerability Researcher s Handbook

Learn the right way to discover, report, and publish security vulnerabilities to prevent exploitation of user systems and reap the rewards of receiving credit for your work

Key Features

• Build successful strategies for planning and executing zero-day vulnerability research
• Find the best ways to disclose vulnerabilities while avoiding vendor conflict
• Learn to navigate the complicated CVE publishing process to receive credit for your research

Book Description

Vulnerability researchers are in increasingly high demand as the number of security incidents related to crime continues to rise with the adoption and use of technology. To begin your journey of becoming a security researcher, you need more than just the technical skills to find vulnerabilities; you'll need to learn how to adopt research strategies and navigate the complex and frustrating process of sharing your findings. This book provides an easy-to-follow approach that will help you understand the process of discovering, disclosing, and publishing your first zero-day vulnerability through a collection of examples and an in-depth review of the process.

You'll begin by learning the fundamentals of vulnerabilities, exploits, and what makes something a zero-day vulnerability. Then, you'll take a deep dive into the details of planning winning research strategies, navigating the complexities of vulnerability disclosure, and publishing your research with sometimes-less-than-receptive vendors.

By the end of the book, you'll be well versed in how researchers discover, disclose, and publish vulnerabilities, navigate complex vendor relationships, receive credit for their work, and ultimately protect users from exploitation. With this knowledge, you'll be prepared to conduct your own research and publish vulnerabilities.

What you will learn

• Find out what zero-day vulnerabilities are and why it's so important to disclose and publish them
• Learn how vulnerabilities get discovered and published to vulnerability scanning tools
• Explore successful strategies for starting and executing vulnerability research
• Discover ways to disclose zero-day vulnerabilities responsibly
• Populate zero-day security findings into the CVE databases
• Navigate and resolve conflicts with hostile vendors
• Publish findings and receive professional credit for your work

Who this book is for

This book is for security analysts, researchers, penetration testers, software developers, IT engineers, and anyone who wants to learn how vulnerabilities are found and then disclosed to the public. You'll need intermediate knowledge of operating systems, software, and interconnected systems before you get started. No prior experience with zero-day vulnerabilities is needed, but some exposure to vulnerability scanners and penetration testing tools will help accelerate your journey to publishing your first vulnerability.

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Vulnerabilities
2. Exploring Real-World Impacts of Zero-Days
3. Vulnerability Research – Getting Started with Successful Strategies
4. Vulnerability Disclosure – Communicating Security Findings
5. Vulnerability Publishing – Getting Your Work Published in Databases
6. Vulnerability Mediation – When Things Go Wrong and Who Can Help
7. Independent Vulnerability Publishing
8. Real-World Case Studies – Digging into Successful (and Unsuccessful) Research Reporting
9. Working with Security Researchers – A Vendor's Guide
10. Templates, Resources, and Final Guidance

Benjamin Strout is a veteran of the technology industry and a passionate technology communicator. His experience in healthcare, biotech, pharmaceutical, and fintech industries has led him into a role as a lead penetration tester at one of the largest healthcare conglomerates in the United States. Founder and point of contact of Maine’s local DEF CON group (DC207), he has been featured as a guest speaker at various conferences. He has contributed to works as a technical reviewer and published 30+ CVEs for technologies in use worldwide. When not teaching others or tinkering with some technological curiosity, he's busy learning bluegrass licks on his banjo and playing with his cats, Dionysius and Louis Thanksgiving.