Which of the following represents the use of a vulnerability to breach a system?

An exploit represents the act of taking advantage of a vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to a system or network. When a specific weakness in software or hardware is discovered, an attacker can create an exploit to manipulate that weakness. This exploitation could lead to various malicious outcomes, such as unauthorized data access, system takeover, or introduction of malware.

Understanding this concept is critical in cybersecurity, as it highlights the importance of regularly patching systems and maintaining strong security controls to mitigate the risk posed by known vulnerabilities. In contrast, a threat refers to potential dangers that could exploit vulnerabilities, while zero trust is a security model designed to limit access and validate users or devices, rather than seeking to exploit. A vulnerability, on its own, is merely a weakness that could be exploited but does not encompass the active process of doing so.