During a penetration test, a flaw in the internal PKI was exploited to gain domain administrator rights using specially crafted certificates. Which of the following remediation tasks should be completed as part of the cleanup phase?
B. Patching the CA
Here's why:
Patching the Certificate Authorities: This involves updating the CA software to address the specific vulnerability that was exploited. Since the attack exploited a flaw in the PKI, patching the CA is crucial to fixing the vulnerability and preventing similar attacks in the future.
While the other options are also important in a broader security context, they may not directly address the specific issue with the PKI flaw:
-Updating the Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs): This is important for managing revoked certificates but may not address the root cause of the PKI vulnerability.
-Changing passwords: This is a good security practice but would not resolve the underlying issue with the PKI vulnerability.
-Implementing SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response): SOAR can help with automating responses and managing security operations but does not directly address the specific PKI vulnerability.
-Therefore, patching the Certificate Authorities is the most effective and direct remediation task for this situatio
A. Updating the CRL
It's a really bad question because you would do BOTH A and B.
The only reason I'm saying A is because the question specifically says "cleanup phase". Patching the CA would TECHNICALLY fall under the Eradication Phase - we're eradicating a threat (patching a vulnerable CA server) - and then cleanup would be updating the CRL.
Answer is A Update the CRL because Immediately invalidates compromised certificates
Prevents further use of malicious certificates
Blocks certificate-based authentication attempts
Part of proper PKI hygiene after compromise
WHy not B Patching the CA
Important but secondary to immediate threat
Doesn't address already issued certificates
Long-term solution rather than immediate cleanup
Doesn't stop current compromise
B. Patching the CA: The flaw in the internal Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) was exploited during the penetration test to gain domain administrator rights, which indicates a vulnerability within the Certificate Authority (CA) system. To prevent similar attacks in the future, the CA should be patched to fix any identified vulnerabilities in the certificate issuance process. This is a critical step in remediating the flaw and securing the PKI system against further exploitation.
Why NOT: A. Updating the CRL (Certificate Revocation List): While updating the CRL is important to revoke any compromised or malicious certificates, it addresses only the symptom (the specific certificates) rather than the root cause (the vulnerability in the CA). The flaw that allowed for the exploitation needs to be patched first, as it could enable the attacker to issue more certificates in the future.
The cleanup phase in a penetration test refers to the steps taken after the test has been completed to ensure that any changes made during the testing process are reversed, and the environment is restored to its original state. This phase ensures that no trace of the penetration test remains and that any potential security risks introduced during the test are mitigated.
In the context of the remediation task in question, the cleanup phase focuses on fixing the vulnerabilities exploited during the penetration test and ensuring the security of the system moving forward. For example, patching the Certification Authority (CA) if it was the root cause of the domain administrator privilege escalation would be a critical task during this phase.
The correct answer is:
A. Updating the CRL (Certificate Revocation List)
Explanation:
When a flaw in the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) is exploited, especially involving malicious or compromised certificates, the first step in remediation is to revoke the affected certificates to prevent further misuse. This is done by updating the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) or using Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP). This ensures that any certificate used in the attack is marked as invalid, mitigating the risk of continued exploitation.
This occurred during a penetration test. We should patch the CA first to prevent further exploitation, that ensures no new certificates can be issued using the same flaw. The we would update the CRL.
While patching the Certificate Authority is important to prevent a similar attack in the future, I believe that updating the Certificate Revocation List will apply more directly to the clean-up phase.
B. Patching the CA (Certificate Authority)
Since the flaw in the internal Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) was exploited to gain domain administrator rights, the primary remediation task should be to patch the Certificate Authority (CA). This will address the vulnerability that allowed the exploitation of the PKI system. Other tasks like updating the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) may be necessary, but patching the CA will directly resolve the issue that led to the compromise.
A. Update the CRL is correct
The first priority is to revoke any compromise certificates. This ensures that those certificates can no longer be used for unauthorized access.
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