Trellix Launches Advanced Research Center, Finds Estimated 350K Open-Source Projects at Risk to Supply Chain Vulnerability

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trellix, the cybersecurity company delivering the future of extended detection and response (XDR), today announced the establishment of the Trellix Advanced Research Center to advance global threat intelligence. Comprised of hundreds of the world’s most elite security analysts and researchers, the Advanced Research Center produces actionable real-time intelligence and threat indicators to help customers detect, respond and remediate the latest cybersecurity threats.

“The threat landscape is scaling in sophistication and potential for impact,” said Aparna Rayasam, Chief Product Officer, Trellix. “We do this work to make our digital and physical worlds safer for everyone. With adversaries strategically investing in talent and technical know-how, the industry has a duty to study the most combative actors and their methods to innovate at a faster rate.”

Trellix Advanced Research Center has the cybersecurity industry’s most comprehensive charter and is at the forefront of emerging methods, trends and actors across the threat landscape. The premier partner of security operations teams across the globe, Trellix Advanced Research Center provides intelligence and cutting-edge content to security analysts while powering our leading XDR platform.

Additional information can be found on the Trellix Advanced Research Center blog and in our Threat Center.

Python Tarfile Vulnerability Highlights Software Supply Chain Complexities

In coordination with today’s launch, Trellix Advanced Research Center also published its research into CVE-2007-4559, a vulnerability estimated to be present in over 350,000 open-source projects and prevalent in closed-source projects. It exists in the Python tarfile module which is a default module in any project using Python and is found extensively in frameworks created by Netflix, AWS, Intel, Facebook, Google, and applications used for machine learning, automation and docker containerization. The vulnerability can be exploited by uploading a malicious file generated with two or three lines of simple code and allows attackers arbitrary code execution, or control of a target device.

“When we talk about supply chain threats, we typically refer to cyber-attacks like the SolarWinds incident, however building on top of weak code-foundations can have an equally severe impact,” said Christiaan Beek, Head of Adversarial & Vulnerability Research, Trellix. “This vulnerability’s pervasiveness is furthered by industry tutorials and online materials propagating its incorrect usage. It’s critical for developers to be educated on all layers of the technology stack to properly prevent the reintroduction of past attack surfaces.”

Open-source developer tools, like Python, are necessary to advance computing and innovation, and protection from known vulnerabilities requires industry collaboration. Trellix is working to push code via GitHub pull request to protect open-source projects from the vulnerability. A free tool for developers to check if their applications are vulnerable is available on Trellix Advanced Research Center’s GitHub.

Additional Resources

• Trellix Threat Center
• Tarfile: Exploiting the World With a 15-Year-Old Vulnerability
• Open-Source Intelligence to Understand the Scope of N-Day Vulnerabilities
• Limiting the Software Supply Chain Attack Surface
• Trellix GitHub

Source: Trellix

About Trellix

Trellix is a global company redefining the future of cybersecurity and soulful work. The company’s open and native extended detection and response (XDR) platform helps organizations confronted by today’s most advanced threats gain confidence in the protection and resilience of their operations. Trellix, along with an extensive partner ecosystem, accelerates technology innovation through machine learning and automation to empower over 40,000 business and government customers with living security. More at https://trellix.com.

About Trellix Advanced Research Center

Trellix Advanced Research Center brings together an elite team of security professionals and researchers to produce insightful and actionable real-time intelligence to propel customer outcomes and the industry at large. Driven by the industry’s most comprehensive charter, our skilled researchers detect trends ahead of the market to empower our customers and partners to solve for emerging threats. More at https://www.trellix.com/en-us/threat-center.html.