What is ASM ?

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

1. Introduction

Attack Surface Management (ASM) is a continuous cybersecurity process designed to identify, monitor, and protect an organization’s assets.

\nThis report outlines how ASM helps detect potential exposures, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities across an organization’s external digital footprint.

Goal- To provide visibility into potential risks, support remediation planning, and strengthen the organization’s overall security posture.

2. Scope of Assessment

The ASM assessment focused on identifying and evaluating publicly accessible assets that may introduce risk due to misconfiguration or neglect.\n

 Includes:

• Domain and subdomain discovery

• SSL/TLS and encryption configuration review

• Cloud and SaaS service mapping

• Open port and API exposure analysis

• Vulnerability and misconfiguration detection

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Potential Assets: These are systems, domains, or services that appear to be related to your organization but are not yet confirmed as officially owned or managed by you.

Example:

• A subdomain like test.xyz.com that still points to your IP.
• A cloud storage bucket that uses your company’s name but wasn’t created by IT.

Why It Matters:\nAttackers don’t care whether you “own” it : if it’s publicly linked to your brand, it can still be exploited.\nSo, ASM flags them as potential assets until you verify ownership.

Findings: Findings are issues, risks, or misconfigurations detected across your assets during the ASM scan. They’re not always full vulnerabilities but can be early warning signs of weaknesses.

Example:

• Missing security headers
• Expired SSL certificates
• Open or unnecessary ports
• Misconfigured DNS records

Why It Matters:\nEach finding indicates a possible exposure that attackers could take advantage of if left unresolved.

3. Asset Inventory

ASM continuously scans and inventories all external assets,  including domains, IP addresses, APIs, web applications, cloud instances, and third-party SaaS connections.

Maintaining an updated and verified inventory helps ensure that no unmanaged or forgotten assets remain exposed to attackers, which is a common source of initial compromise

4. Findings Overview

During an ASM engagement, the system identifies and categorizes assets and potential weaknesses based on their severity and impact.

These findings help prioritize remediation and ensure that high-risk exposures are addressed first.

Common finding categories include:

• Misconfigured or unauthenticated services
• Weak or expired SSL certificates
• Missing HTTP security headers
• Publicly accessible cloud resources
• DNS misconfigurations and SaaS service links
• Weak cipher suites or outdated encryption protocols\n\n

Explanation through Illustration 

1. Open Ports – “Unlocked Doors on Your Network”

**Illustration**:

Picture your company’s digital network like an office building.

Each port is a door that allows certain types of communication (like emails, web access, file transfers).

• If a port is open, it’s like a door left unlocked, anyone on the internet can knock and try to get in.\n
• Sometimes, that door is needed (for your website or email), but other times it’s open by mistake.\n
• Hackers often scan for open doors to find easy ways into systems.\n\n

Example:\n

Port 443 (used for HTTPS) should be open for websites , but if other ports like 22 (SSH) or 8080 (test servers) are open and not protected, they can be misused.

Mitigation: Only keep the ports you need open and lock the rest using a firewall.

 2. SSL Certificate Expiration - “Expired Lock on a Door”

**Illustration** :\nAn SSL certificate is like the padlock on your website’s front door. It ensures that when someone visits your site, the connection is secure and trusted.

• When the certificate expires, it’s like the padlock rusting or breaking , the website still exists, but visitors will see a “Not Secure” warning.

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• This can scare away users and even allow attackers to pretend to be your website.

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Example:

If your banking site’s SSL certificate expires, users might see a red warning and attackers could intercept data.

Mitigation: Set up automatic SSL renewal and monitor certificate expiry dates regularly.

5. Example Detections and Remediations

Below are examples of common detections an ASM system can identify, along with the associated risk and recommended remediation steps.

Detection	Description	Risk / Impact	Recommended Remediation
MongoDB – Unauthenticated Access	Database instance accessible without login credentials.	Exposes sensitive data to the public internet.	Enable authentication, restrict network access, and enforce role-based access control.
Expired / Self-Signed SSL Certificates	Certificates not issued by a trusted CA or expired.	Causes loss of trust and possible interception of encrypted traffic.	Renew certificates before expiry and use trusted Certificate Authorities.
SharePoint List – Public Access	Misconfigured sharing settings allow anonymous access.	Potential data leakage of internal content.	Restrict access to authenticated users and audit permissions regularly.
HTTP Missing Security Headers	Key HTTP headers like HSTS or CSP missing from web responses.	Increases susceptibility to XSS and clickjacking attacks.	Implement security headers across all web servers.
Weak Cipher Suites Detected	Old or insecure encryption algorithms used for HTTPS.	Allows attackers to decrypt or manipulate traffic.	Update TLS configurations to strong ciphers (TLS 1.2+).
DNS SaaS Service Detection (CNAME Exposure)	CNAME record linked to an unused or inactive SaaS service.	May lead to subdomain takeover.	Validate ownership or remove inactive DNS records.
Open Port Exposure (e.g., Port 22/443/8080)	Network ports open to the internet.	Increases attack surface for unauthorized access.	Restrict unnecessary ports and apply firewall policies.
Exposed API Endpoint	API publicly accessible without authentication or rate limiting.	Risk of data scraping or unauthorized actions.	Apply authentication, encryption, and API gateway controls.
Public Cloud Storage (AWS S3 / Azure Blob)	Cloud bucket found publicly accessible.	Sensitive data could be downloaded or modified.	Configure private access and apply least privilege access controls.
WAF Detection	Web Application Firewall identified on an asset.	Indicates security protection in place, not a risk.	Ensure consistent WAF coverage across all web assets.

Insights

• Most issues come from wrong settings or missed updates, not from direct hacking.
• Keeping certificates and access controls updated helps avoid repeated problems.
• Open ports and DNS errors are common weak points attackers can target.
• Regular monitoring helps spot new risks or changes quickly.
• Using strong passwords and authentication protects important systems.
• Adding security headers makes websites safer from browser-based attacks.
• Updating SSL/TLS settings improves data protection.
• Limiting public access to cloud storage and DNS prevents data leaks or misuse.
• Overall, ASM helps you see, manage, and fix your digital risks before attackers can exploit them.

8. Conclusion

Attack Surface Management provides continuous visibility and control over an organization’s digital footprint.

The findings demonstrate that most risks originate from improper configurations, unmanaged assets, and weak encryption practices.

By addressing these issues through structured remediation, automation, and continuous monitoring, organizations can significantly reduce exposure, improve resilience, and maintain a strong external security posture.