What is Vulnerability Management?

What is Vulnerability Management?

Vulnerability management is the practice of identifying security vulnerabilities in systems, applications, and network infrastructure. This includes evaluating, treating, and reporting the vulnerabilities and serves as a key part of maintaining a robust cybersecurity posture across the organization. Vulnerability management assesses an environment on a continuous basis, finding areas of potential vulnerability so that threats can be addressed before they harm the business.

In this instance, a vulnerability is an area of opportunity for hackers to exploit a network or application. A vulnerability may be a flaw in the system’s design or implementation. It may be a weakness in the network, or a misconfigured integration buried deep in the stack. Vulnerabilities come in all shapes and sizes including software bugs, unpatched or unupdated applications, or obsolete devices that are no longer supported.

How Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Risks Connect

Vulnerabilities, threats, and risks are all interconnected. Whereas threats exploit vulnerabilities, risks represent the potential negative impact of those threats if they are not mitigated quickly. For example, a vulnerability in an application might be targeted by malware which might lead to the theft of customer data or extended network downtime.

Significance of Vulnerability Management in Cybersecurity

Vulnerability management is a key component of risk management as a whole. It helps enterprises and organizations know what threats exist and helps them prioritize what to address first. And since vulnerability management is part of the broader organizational goal of mitigating risk, it is intrinsically linked to IT governance, compliance, and incident response planning.

Incorporating vulnerability management means putting proactive defense measures in place. This includes patch and update management processes as well as baseline and access controls. All together, these characteristics make an organization’s larger security posture more robust.

Goals and Objective of Vulnerability Management Programs

Vulnerability management programs exist to shrink the potential attack surface of an organization. This is primarily about preventing potential incidents and breaches but also includes a waterfall effect that touches on regulatory compliance. It also enables the organization to drive more innovation, faster. By helping IT and cybersecurity personnel respond to threats more effectively and quickly, vulnerability management drives long-term organizational resilience and growth.

What is a Vulnerability?

A vulnerability is a weakness in a system that can be exploited by malicious parties or attackers. This exploit may include unauthorized access or data theft that results in disrupted operations, network downtime, or brand degradation with customers. These weaknesses are not limited to software vulnerabilities but rather can extend to hardware and even human processes and activities.

Examples of Common Vulnerabilities

The most common examples of vulnerabilities are outdated software, misconfigured devices, weak passwords, and data that is not properly encrypted.

• Outdated software is software that has not been properly patched or updated or that is no longer supported by the publisher

• Misconfigured devices are not just those that have incorrect permissions. The more common form of misconfigured devices are those that still have default settings. From a basic work computer to a wi-fi router, default device settings are almost always easily found online. As a result, this is one of the most common threat surfaces for hackers across the cybersecurity landscape.

• Weak Passwords: One of the more common vulnerabilities in businesses, weak passwords or credentials that can be easily guessed by outside parties. A child’s birthday. A pet’s name. The mascot of a favorite sports team. Even “password” and “1234” are amazingly still in use. Default passwords in devices and applications are a huge weakness too.

Known vs. Unknown Vulnerabilities

Vulnerabilities can be classified as “known” or “unknown.”

• Known Vulnerabilities: Known vulnerabilities are those that have available patches or paths to mitigation. In databases, for example, these are referred to as common vulnerabilities and exposures, or “CVE.”

• Unknown Vulnerabilities: Unknown vulnerabilities are discovered by hackers before the publisher, manufacturer or vendor can identify them and provide a fix. Known as “Zero Day Vulnerabilities,” these are particularly dangerous as significant damage can take place before the victim has a chance to respond.

Evolving Nature of Vulnerabilities and Attack Surfaces

As technology becomes more intertwined with day-to-day business operations, vulnerabilities grow in sophistication and number. Between cloud services, remote work, IoT connected devices, API calls, and third-party integrations, the expansion of attack surfaces demands vulnerability management practices that can evolve and adapt at a moment’s notice.

Phases of the Vulnerability Management Process

The vulnerability management process includes four key phases. These phases function together and lead to an adaptive vulnerability management process that protects the corporate network both now and in the face of emerging threats. There are four phases of vulnerability management process:

• Strategy
• Planning
• Implementation
• Assessment

Let’ look at each of these phases.

1. Strategy

Strategy is critical for aligning the vulnerability management process to organizational goals. Define the objectives of the program as well as the program KPIs in this phase.

2. Planning

Form a plan for identifying not just important assets but also resource availability and the timelines available for the security team to work.

3. Implementation

After the strategy and plan are in place, it’s time to get started. First, conduct vulnerability scans and gather the results. Then apply the remediation measures, which may include patches, configuration changes, or new passwords.

4. Assessment

The effectiveness of the implementation is measured by an assessment. Assessments should be performed regularly so that any adjustments can be made in the future.

Frameworks for Vulnerability Management Programs

There are a few different frameworks available to vulnerability management programs.

Traditional Vulnerability Management

Traditional vulnerability management is easy to implement and focuses on regular scanning and patching. The downside of this framework are challenges in knowing what threats to prioritize and doesn’t always account for how complicated modern tech environments can be.

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)

Risk base vulnerability management takes traditional vulnerability management a few steps further by prioritizing vulnerabilities. This prioritization is based on how important an asset is and the impact the risk has on the business. As a result, this approach helps guide resource allocation to address the most pressing threats.

Components of Vulnerability Management

Effective vulnerability management consists of understanding the assets and the threats that faced by those assets. Six components of vulnerability management are as follow:

• Asset Discovery and Inventory
• Vulnerability Scanners
• Patch Management
• Configuration Management
• Threat Intelligence Integration
• Penetration Testing

1. Asset Discovery and Inventory

Importance of Maintaining a Comprehensive Inventory

A complete inventory of assets is essential for identifying vulnerabilities. This includes hardware, software, and infrastructure including routers, switches, and even cloud servers and storage.

Great vulnerability management requires managing vulnerabilities wherever they are present. On-premises systems, cloud environments, and remote endpoints including IoT devices must be accounted for.

2. Vulnerability Scanners

Functionality and Types (Authenticated vs. Unauthenticated Scans)

There are two most common types of vulnerability scans:

• Authenticated scans
• Unauthenticated scans

Authenticated Scans	Unauthenticated Scans
Authenticated scans access systems with credentials.	Unauthenticated scans simulate the perspective of an external attacker.

During a scan, databases like CVE and NVD (National Vulnerability Database) provide standardized references for vulnerabilities, while CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) quantifies severity levels to guide prioritization.

3. Patch Management

Automated vs. Manual Patching Processes

Patch management is most often performed manually or using automated tools.

Manual Patching	Automated Patching
When manual, the security team has greater control over which patches are placed and when. However, this is much more resource intensive than automated patching.	Automated patching is efficient for addressing routine vulnerabilities but may require oversight for critical patches and systems.

When manual, the security team has greater control over which patches are placed and when. However, this is much more resource intensive than automated patching. Automated patching is efficient for addressing routine vulnerabilities but may require oversight for critical patches and systems.

4. Configuration Management

Configuration management requires setting secure baselines as well as monitoring for anomalies. This keeps organizations compliant with industry standards, government regulations while minimizing exposure to risks.

5. Threat Intelligence Integration

Integrating threat intelligence into vulnerability management helps organizations to align remediation efforts with real-time insights around both existing and new threats. In turn, this improves decision-making and response times.

6. Penetration Testing

Penetration testing simulates a real-world attack. Its purpose is to uncover vulnerabilities missed by any automated tools or previous scans. The result is a more comprehensive security assessment than one that relies on scans alone.

As far as penetration tests go, automated tests are great for routine checks. Manual tests are more resource intensive but offer a deeper analysis that is more effective in uncovering complex or overlooked vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability Management Lifecycle

The vulnerability management lifecycle is an end-to-end process.  It starts with discovery and is followed by prioritization and remediation. The lifecycle continues with reassessments of the assets and network before moving on to reporting and, eventually, continuous monitoring.

Discovery

Most teams use a wide range of tools and techniques for vulnerability discovery. This includes advanced vulnerability scanners, configuration analyzers, and threat intelligence platforms. Together, this creates a full view of potential weaknesses across the entire digital ecosystem of an organization.

Categorization and Prioritization

Upon identification, the vulnerabilities must be categorized and prioritized. Even the most advanced cybersecurity teams cannot address every vulnerability at the same time. As a result, they must prioritize where to put focus and attention. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System, or “CVSS,” plays a key role in determining the severity of a particular vulnerability so that the team understands how urgent it is to address it.

Additional factors like the importance of impacted assets or systems, the quantity of exploits, and the business impact of a successful attack also influence decisions around prioritization. This leads to a strategic approach that stands the best chance of protecting the business from a catastrophic attack.

Remediation

Addressing vulnerabilities involves three primary strategies:

• Remediation
• Mitigation
• Acceptance.

Let’s look at each of these separately.

Remediation

Remediation is the process of completely fixing, or “remediating” the vulnerability. In doing so, any risk posted by the threat is eliminated.

Mitigation

When a risk is mitigated, its potential impact is reduced. Even when a risk cannot be eliminated, a little bit of protection through risk mitigation is better than none at all.

Acceptance

Acceptance is an acknowledgement of the risk and a decision that any potential impact of the risk is not significant enough to worry about. While accepting some risks sounds irresponsible, the reality is that with so many potential threats lurking in the digital ecosystem, some simply must be accepted and ignored, at least until a later date.

Effective remediation is a collaborative effort between not just IT and security teams but users as well. By working together, these teams (and by extension the entire organization) can make certain that vulnerabilities and risks are addressed in a coordinated manner.

Reassessment

A remediated vulnerability is a starting point, not the end of the security journey. Reassessment ensures that a previous vulnerability has not led to new issues or vulnerabilities.

Reporting and Monitoring

Dashboards and reports keep stakeholders informed about the threats and vulnerabilities that are present and the status of risk elimination and reduction. Furthermore, reports show compliance status and the overall security posture of the organization.

This reporting should include support for necessary compliance with GDRP, SOX, PCI, HIPAA or any other governance where an intrusion could lead to civil or legal penalties.

Continuous Monitoring

Finally, using automation for continuous monitoring leads to real-time visibility so security teams can repost faster to any issues that may arise.

Planning and Implementation of Vulnerability Management Programs

Preliminary Activities and Planning

Before planning a vulnerability management program, there are a few things to do. First, define the scope of the program and identify all of the stakeholders.

For example, the COO of the company may have interest in any potential downtime while the General Counsel will want to be informed of all compliance risks. To that end, any relevant laws and regulations should be gathered in advance for planning.

Developing the Plan

Developing the plan requires clear metrics for success and a training plan. This ensures that everyone involved knows how the objectives are measured and how to best achieve them. From there, the choice of the correct tools and assignment of clear responsibilities to everyone involved will set the program for success.

Implementation

Implementing and executing the vulnerability management program starts with performing the scans and maintaining detailed records of what those scans uncover. The results are then prioritized as detailed above and analyzed for the root causes of any weaknesses or risks. Finally, these causes can be addressed to solve any immediate problems and prevent recurrence in the future.

Vulnerability Management vs. Related Processes

There are a number of processes that are related to vulnerability management but are, in fact, quite different.

• Vulnerability Management vs Assessment: Vulnerability management is an ongoing process while vulnerability assessments are periodic evaluations

• Vulnerability Management vs Penetration Testing: From a testing standpoint, vulnerability management includes identifying, prioritizing, and remediating vulnerabilities while penetration testing focuses on exploiting vulnerabilities.

• Vulnerability Management vs Attack Surface Management (ASM): Finally, attack surface management (ASM) identifies all potential entry points while vulnerability management addresses the vulnerabilities within those entry points.

Advanced Strategies in Vulnerability Management

As threats become more complex, vulnerability management programs must evolve and adapt. New capabilities and tools help security teams protect their businesses even more.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning enhance vulnerability management through predictive analytics. This helps identity vulnerabilities before they even happen, improving security as well as efficiency and accuracy.

Automation also helps with validation and remediation efforts. This reduces the amount of time and energy that require manual involvement in the vulnerability management process.

Challenges in Vulnerability Management

A number of issues can fell even the most well thought out vulnerability management program.

• Lack of a comprehensive asset inventory: First, a lack of a comprehensive asset inventory means that the program will have blind spots. Completely protecting every known asset is of little comfort if there are other assets in the network that are not being monitored and protected.

• Insufficient human and technical resource: Additionally, insufficient human and technical resources for the program can cause significant risk for the business. Even in a program leveraging automation and artificial intelligence, some level of human involvement is required for enhanced security. Allocating enough of the right people to own the program’s success is critical.

Best Practices in Vulnerability Management

That said, there are a number of best practices that can set even the most complex vulnerability management program up for success.

• Regular comprehensive scans and monitoring: Regular comprehensive scans and monitoring are a great foundation for promptly identifying any vulnerabilities. Embedding a vulnerability management philosophy into the development pipeline goes a long way in reducing vulnerabilities in production environments.

• Fostering collaboration: Finally, fostering collaboration between teams will drive quicker and more efficient vulnerability management when there is an issue identified.

Benefits of a Robust Vulnerability Management Program

Vulnerability management programs bring scores of benefits for organizations that implement them.

• Improved security and risk reduction: Key among these benefits is improved security and risk reduction. Vulnerability management minimizes exposure to threats and helps organizations remain compliant in regulatory environments.

• Improved operational efficiency: A successful program also brings improved operational efficiency and cost savings. Automated tools and streamlined workflows reduce overhead while freeing team members to work on higher-leverage, strategic tasks.

• Stronger cyber defense: Strong vulnerability management processes also enhance an organization’s ability to not only withstand a cyberattack, but to minimize damage when one takes place. Unfortunately, cyber-attacks are sometimes successful. A good vulnerability management program will minimize the damage.

Emerging Trends and the Future of Vulnerability Management

The future of vulnerability management will look far different than even today’s most sophisticated programs. With threat surfaces evolving and cyber security measures adapting to those changes, new tools will soon arrive. Chief among them are automation tools and AI-agents that enable seamless orchestration of key tasks.

Ongoing monitoring and cloud-native vulnerability management will provide insights and remediation measures faster than ever before. Further, these approaches will protect cloud environments and workloads more efficiently and effectively than current options.

Finally, a new focus on cyber-resilience will emerge in the lifecycle, giving organizations an even better chance of surviving even the most catastrophic cyberattacks.

Vulnerability Management as a Service (VMaaS)

Vulnerability management as a service, or “VMaaS,” provides businesses with full managed services for vulnerability identification, prioritization, and remediation. This service brings scores of benefits including a reduction of resource constraints and deeper expertise. This combination ensures more consistent program execution, freeing in-house IT resources to work on proactive and transformative projects and initiatives.

When choosing a provider for VMaaS, it is important to proceed with planning the scope and KPIs for the program itself. This ensures that the VMaaS vendor is aligned with the needs of the business. It is also critical to understand if the VMaaS provider has experience in similar environments and with similar assets. A VMaaS provider that is used to working with Windows machines and Azure infrastructure is a poor fit for a business built on MacBooks and AWS.

Pathlock Tools and Solutions for Vulnerability Management

Pathlock’s vulnerability management module combines visibility with context so that security teams and auditors can quickly catch and close risks.

Pathlock uses a comprehensive rule set while continuously scanning your SAP applications to identify critical vulnerabilities, show you where they are, prioritize them by level of risk, provide detailed recommendations for remediation, and produce the documentation you need to prove compliance.

Pathlock keeps your security team up to date on the latest patches, recommended configurations, deployment guidelines, and patch testing requirements with continuous updates from our SAP research team. Want to stay ahead of security issues and proactively patch your business-critical applications? Then take advantage of automated vulnerability management from Pathlock. Book a demo today.

Vulnerability Management Success

The vulnerability management process relies on consistency in execution as well as a commitment to continuous improvement. Today’s reports should serve as a roadmap for stopping tomorrow’s threats in their tracks. With new tools on the horizon, and new threats popping up every day, it has never been more important to commit to ongoing vulnerability management.

These proactive strategies ensure organizations will remain resilient in the face of a changing digital world. Adopting these strategies is an investment in long-term security and operational success. Implementing a vulnerability management process today means improved business resilience and an organization better positioned in even the most competitive markets.