logo
logo
Sign in

Virtual Patching

avatar
harrycollins
Virtual Patching

What is Virtual Patching? What does it mean to have Virtual Patching? These are just some of the many questions that people may have when they first hear about Virtual Patching. Virtual patching is a security feature that prevents the exploits of a specific vulnerability from being used to compromise a system. When you think about the many different situations in which companies may need to quickly edit the underlying code, the importance of virtual patching really becomes evident.

The term virtual patching can be used in two basic ways. In one sense, it refers to the fact that patches created for VMWare ESX Server might be applied to virtual machines. In other words, if a developer wants to update the source files of their application from one platform to another, they would apply the patch to the targeted VMWare ESX server and then reboot the targeted machine. However, with virtual machines, this scenario is much less cumbersome. Since virtual machines are not connected to any physical computer, the patch can be applied from any location.

So why is virtual patching important? For one thing, it helps prevent the execution of exploits against critical security features such as Virtual Address Space, Shared Security Ports, and User Access Control. It also prevents the execution of various types of weak patches and of incomplete applications. As an example, a security flaw that allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a system could have been fixed using virtual patching.

What is the Virtual Machine Security Policy? The Virtual Machine Security Policy is the rules that determine which inputs of the Vulnerability Masking DLL are allowed to execute. When the 'ileged' version of the DLL is used, only those inputs that match the security policies will be allowed to run. Any other input will result in the bypass of this security policy. The Virtual Machine Security Policy can be controlled by the administrator through various commands or through hardware such as the SM BIOS.

What is the Vulnerability Response Process (VRP)? The Vulnerability Response Process is the software patch that acts as a response to an exploited security vulnerability. The VSR contains a patch, which checks for known vulnerabilities against the software and compares them with the corresponding patch files in the software library of the vulnerable application. If they match, then the vulnerability is acknowledged and a patch is prepared to apply the fixes. The VSR is then executed to execute the patch.

What is the Custom Coding Model (CCM)? The CCM is a type of virtual patching that utilizes a group of security managers to issue rules, which describe the rules for the application code. These security managers are often located within the same company but can be located anywhere in the world. The CCSM can be written directly into the executable code of the application or it can be stored as a virtual file on a storage device. The CCM can contain a number of rules, which will be processed during the execution of the application code. There are many organizations that use the CCM model as it allows a single administrator to grant, deny or modify permissions and access levels to the application code.

Why is Virtual Patching Help? Virtual Patching helps prevent downtime that can occur due to software patches. With virtual patching, when a software update or security patch is released, it will be applied to the operating system before the patches are made available to end users. In addition to preventing downtime, it also helps prevent hackers from gaining access to important system information. Many organizations use virtual patching as part of their routine security updates so that they can ensure that their systems are running the latest versions of the software and that there are no vulnerabilities that have been discovered that may affect their customers.

How do I Protect Against an exploit attempt using Virtual Patching? When your PC is being exploited, the malicious attacker has to find a way to bypass all of the security protections that you have in place on your system. This usually involves compromising one of your software application patches or vulnerability and then using that vulnerability to gain access to your system. You can protect against this type of attack by running your VPS in a variety of environments and not just one which is designed to secure web applications.

collect
0
avatar
harrycollins
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more