INE Security, a global leader in hands-on cybersecurity training and certifications, today highlighted how ongoing real-world practice with the latest CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) is essential for transforming security teams from reactive to proactive defenders.
With over 26,000 new CVEs documented in the past year, security teams are drowning in vulnerability alerts while facing exploit windows that have compressed to hours in many cases.
“Reading CVE bulletins is not the same as knowing how to stop the attack,” said Dara Warn, CEO at INE Security. “Our Skill Dive platform gives practitioners hands-on experience with real vulnerabilities in contained environments, cutting incident response times when these same issues hit production. This practical approach delivers far more value than traditional security certifications alone.”
Skill Dive is INE Security’s risk-free technical environment featuring exclusive labs not found in learning paths and courses. Skill Dive’s Vulnerabilities Lab Collection offers a continuously updated library of labs specifically designed to provide hands-on practice with actual CVEs, allowing security practitioners, including those preparing for pentester certifications, to experience both the exploitation and mitigation of current real-world threats in a safe environment.
CVEs: From Bulletin to Defense
CVEs are the standard identifiers for known vulnerabilities, but many security teams struggle to implement effective mitigations at scale, even those with Sec+ and other entry-level certifications.
Common challenges include:
- Risk prioritization across hundreds of monthly CVEs
- Testing mitigations without impacting production
- Adapting defenses to diverse system configurations
- Building response muscle memory that works under pressure
- Getting ahead of the threat curve instead of constantly reacting
Practice Today’s Threats. Prevent Tomorrow’s Breaches.
INE Security’s Skill Dive Vulnerabilities Lab Collection delivers:
- Exclusive vulnerability labs not available in standard security training
- Monthly CVE updates focusing on high-impact vulnerabilities
- Isolated practice environment for both offensive and defensive techniques
- Complete severity coverage from critical zero-days to common misconfigurations
- Practical exploitation and defense experience that transfers directly to production incidents
“When a critical CVE drops, you don’t have time to theorize,” said Tracy Wallace, Director of Content at INE Security. “Teams with hands-on practice respond significantly faster because they’ve seen similar attack patterns before. Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228) was a perfect example – practitioners who had experience with JNDI injection attacks were able to implement effective mitigations within hours, while others took days or even weeks to fully remediate.”
Real Benefits for Security Teams
Skill Dive delivers immediate advantages for practitioners:
- Develop attack pattern recognition that speeds incident response
- Understand attack chains beyond what bulletins describe
- Practice team coordination for high-pressure security events
- Identify defensive gaps before attackers find them
- Build skills that directly translate to career advancement
SecOps teams, security analysts, and IT admins get exactly what certification courses miss: hands-on practice with real-world vulnerabilities.
“Security professionals who regularly drill on current vulnerabilities become exponentially more valuable to their organizations,” said Wallace. “The best defenders understand both the attack and defense sides of the equation.”
High-Impact CVEs in the Skill Dive Collection
The platform features hands-on labs for the most actively exploited vulnerabilities in enterprise environments, including:
- OpenMetadata Authentication Bypass (CVE-2024-28255): Exploit the target machine running OpenMetadata by bypassing the authentication and gaining remote code execution (RCE)
- Calibre RCE (CVE-2024-6782): Exploit the remote code execution vulnerability in Calibre, leading to unauthorized system access
- Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228): Practice identifying and remediating this critical remote code execution vulnerability that continues to plague Java applications across multiple sectors
- Spring4Shell (CVE-2022-22965): Gain hands-on experience with this widely exploited RCE vulnerability affecting Spring Framework applications
“We continuously track which vulnerabilities are most actively exploited,” said Wallace. “Our collection prioritizes CVEs with the highest real-world impact, not just theoretical severity ratings.”
Proactive Security Through Deliberate Practice
The Skill Dive approach includes:
- Monthly updates aligned with emerging threat patterns
- Realistic environments mirroring production systems
- Practical documentation focused on effective mitigations
- Continuous evolution based on real-world attack trends
Recent lab additions include other top-exploited vulnerabilities such as Cacti Import Packages RCE (CVE-2024-25641), Gradio Path Traversal (CVE-2024-1561), Calibre Arbitrary File Read (CVE-2024-6781), Graylog Information Exposure (CVE-2024-24824), and Navidrome SQL Injection (CVE-2024-47062).
“Security teams that regularly practice with new vulnerabilities stop more breaches, period,” said Wallace. “Practice transforms defense from constant firefighting into strategic advantage.”
Availability
Individual subscriptions to Skill Dive are available now. Enterprise packages for team training are also available.
For more information, users can visit ine.com/cyber-ranges
About INE Security
INE Security is the premier provider of online networking and cybersecurity training and cybersecurity certifications. Harnessing a powerful hands-on lab platform, cutting-edge technology, a global video distribution network, and world-class instructors, INE Security is the top training choice for Fortune 500 companies worldwide for cybersecurity training in business and for IT professionals looking to advance their careers. INE Security’s suite of learning paths offers an incomparable depth of expertise across cybersecurity. The company is committed to delivering advanced technical training while also lowering the barriers worldwide for those looking to enter and excel in an IT career.
Contact
Kathryn Brown
INE Security
Read More from This Article: INE Security Alert: Continuous CVE Practice Closes Critical Gap Between Vulnerability Alerts and Effective Defense
Source: News