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768 CVEs Exploited in 2024, Reflecting a 20% Increase from 639 in 2023

criticalExploit / PoC exploited in the wildimportance 60CVE-2021-44228

Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →

CVEVulnerabilityCVSSEPSSFlagsAffectedExposurePublished
CVE-2021-44228
JNDI Injection Remote Code Execution in Apache Log4j2 (Log4Shell)

Apache Log4j2, an extremely widely used Java logging library, fails to protect its JNDI lookup feature against attacker-controlled JNDI-related endpoints (CWE-20, CWE-502), so crafted text processed by the logger causes the Java runtime to fetch and load attacker-supplied objects, leading to remote code execution. The flaw is triggered whenever attacker-controlled input reaches the logging API and is parsed for JNDI lookups, a pattern common in web servers and enterprise Java applications that log user-supplied fields such as headers or form values. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution under the privileges of the affected application, giving attackers a foothold for lateral movement, data theft, and ransomware deployment. Any Java application or product that ships or bundles an affected Apache Log4j2 release is exposed, making this one of the most broadly deployed vulnerabilities ever disclosed. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-12-10 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days.

Do: Inventory all Java applications and dependencies for Apache Log4j2 and apply the vendor's patched updates, or remove affected assets from the network, as required by CISA's KEV catalog. Where updates are not yet available, use the temporary mitigations in CISA's ED-22-02 recommended-mitigation guidance, such as disabling message lookups, only until patches are applied. Prioritize internet-facing and business-critical systems and hunt for exploitation activity given known ransomware use.

10.0100% KEV ransomware PoC ×9
  • Apache Log4j2
masshundreds of millions of Java applications/devices, with hundreds of thousands of internet-exposed services
Full article319 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse

Ravie LakshmananFeb 03, 2025Vulnerability / Network Security

As many as 768 vulnerabilities with designated CVE identifiers were reported as exploited in the wild in 2024, up from 639 CVEs in 2023, registering a 20% increase year-over-year.

Describing 2024 as "another banner year for threat actors targeting the exploitation of vulnerabilities," VulnCheck said 23.6% of known exploited vulnerabilities (KEV) were known to be weaponized either on or before the day their CVEs were publicly disclosed.

This marks a slight decrease from 2023's 26.8%, indicating that exploitation attempts can take place at any time in a vulnerability's lifecycle.

"During 2024, 1% of the CVEs published were reported publicly as exploited in the wild," VulnCheck's Patrick Garrity said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "This number is expected to grow as exploitation is often discovered long after a CVE is published."

The report comes over two months after the company revealed that 15 different Chinese hacking groups out of a total of 60 named threat actors have been linked to the abuse of at least one of the top 15 routinely exploited vulnerabilities in 2023.

"Not surprisingly, the Log4j CVE (CVE-2021-44228) is associated with the most threat actors overall, with 31 named threat actors linked to its exploitation," Garrity noted late last year, adding the company identified 65,245 hosts potentially vulnerable to the flaw.

In all, there are roughly 400,000 internet-accessible systems likely susceptible to attacks stemming from the exploitation of 15 security shortcomings in Apache, Atlassian, Barracuda, Citrix, Cisco, Fortinet, Microsoft, Progress, PaperCut, and Zoho products.

"Organizations should evaluate their exposure to these technologies, enhance visibility into potential risks, leverage robust threat intelligence, maintain strong patch management practices, and implement mitigating controls, such as minimizing internet-facing exposure of these devices wherever possible," VulnCheck said.

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