The x86-64 kernel system-call functionality in Xen 4.1.2 and earlier, as used in Citrix XenServer 6.0.2 and earlier and other products; Oracle Solaris 11 and earlier; illumos before r13724; Joyent SmartOS before 20120614T184600Z; FreeBSD before 9.0-RELEASE-p3; NetBSD 6.0 Beta and earlier; Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and R2 SP1 and Windows 7 Gold and SP1; and possibly other operating systems, when running on an Intel processor, incorrectly uses the sysret path in cases where a certain address is not a canonical address, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application. NOTE: because this issue is due to incorrect use of the Intel specification, it should have been split into separate identifiers; however, there was some value in preserving the original mapping of the multi-codebase coordinated-disclosure effort to a single identifier.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| freebsd / freebsd | - | 9.0.x |
| illumos / illumos | - | r13723.x |
| joyent / smartos | - | 20120614.x |
| xen / xen | 4.0.4 | 4.0.4.x |
| xen / xen | 4.0.2 | 4.0.2.x |
| xen / xen | 4.0.0 | 4.0.0.x |
| xen / xen | 4.1.1 | 4.1.1.x |
| xen / xen | 4.1.0 | 4.1.0.x |
| xen / xen | - | 4.1.2.x |
| xen / xen | 4.0.1 | 4.0.1.x |
| xen / xen | 4.0.3 | 4.0.3.x |
| microsoft / windows_server_2008 | r2 | r2.x |
| microsoft / windows_xp | - | - |
| microsoft / windows_server_2003 | - | - |
| microsoft / windows_7 | - | - |
| citrix / xenserver | - | 6.0.2.x |
| citrix / xenserver | 6.0 | 6.0.x |
| netbsd / netbsd | - | 6.0.x |
| sun / sunos | - | 5.11.x |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.