An attack vector is nothing but a path or means by which an attacker can gain access to the target system. For compromising a system, there could be multiple attack vectors possible. The following are some of the examples of attack vectors:
- Attackers gained access to sensitive data in a database by exploiting SQL injection vulnerability in the application
- Attackers gained access to sensitive data by gaining physical access to the database system
- Attackers deployed malware on the target systems by exploiting the SMB vulnerability
- Attackers gained administrator-level access by performing a brute force attack on the system credentials
To sum up the terms we have learned, we can say that assets are endangered by threats that exploit vulnerabilities resulting in exposure, which is a risk that could be mitigated using safeguards.