2023’s Most Exploited Vulnerabilities: A Global Cybersecurity Advisory

In a joint cybersecurity advisory, the top cybersecurity agencies from the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have identified the most exploited vulnerabilities of 2023. This advisory, coauthored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, NSA, Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), and other national cybersecurity teams, highlights the critical CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) frequently targeted by malicious actors.

In 2023, malicious cyber actors exploited a greater number of zero-day vulnerabilities compared to 2022, enabling them to conduct sophisticated operations against high-value targets. The advisory notes that “in 2023, the majority of the most frequently exploited vulnerabilities were initially exploited as a zero-day.”

The advisory lists the 15 most exploited vulnerabilities, revealing patterns in the types of systems and software that are most frequently targeted. Here are the vulnerabilities:

The advisory emphasizes that global collaboration is essential to counteract the growing threat of zero-day exploits. Key recommendations include:

• Adopting security-centered development lifecycles: Developers are encouraged to integrate threat modeling and testing throughout the product lifecycle to reduce vulnerabilities.
• Encouraging responsible vulnerability disclosure: Bug bounty programs and other incentives can help restrict zero-day exploits by encouraging researchers to report vulnerabilities instead of leaving them unpatched.
• Utilizing advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools: EDR solutions play a vital role in detecting suspicious activity and have been instrumental in identifying at least three of the top 15 zero-day vulnerabilities from last year.

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