What is Vulnerability Scanning?

Vulnerability scanning is an automated process designed to use specialized software solutions to identify known security and performance weaknesses within IT infrastructure, such as networks, servers, web applications, and mobile devices.

This process involves systematically probing the infrastructure for known security vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, outdated software, and dependencies, and compiling a comprehensive view of the organization’s security level without disrupting business continuity.

After identifying and categorizing vulnerabilities based on severity and priority in a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) format, a report is generated in a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) format.

Core Characteristics of Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability scanning is a safe and non-invasive process that identifies potential weaknesses in a system without attempting to breach it. Instead of exploiting the system, it compiles a report of detected vulnerabilities, making it suitable for use in production environments.

Scans can focus on a single domain or multiple infrastructure domains, such as operating systems, web applications, cloud services, or mobile devices. They often connect to various databases of known vulnerabilities and can be scheduled to run at regular intervals.

By comparing results with previous scans, vulnerability scanning supports continuous risk management and helps establish a quantifiable risk assessment mechanism. This ongoing process helps with the early detection of unpatched servers and software, misconfigurations that deviate from vendor best practices, and systems exposed to cyber threats like malicious code injections or ransomware worm attacks.

Taking a proactive approach to identifying and mitigating these risks strengthens the security of the IT infrastructure. This improves customer and partner trust and business brand image, and reduces the chance of delays or disruptions in the continuity of regular business.

Many regulatory bodies require regular vulnerability scanning as a mandatory policy for compliance with regulations, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Challenges in Vulnerability Scanning

• One major challenge in vulnerability scanning is unknown or undocumented devices in an organization’s network. These devices will be missing during the scan as they are outside the scope of scheduled scans, creating blind spots for assessing the threat landscape. These gaps typically occur due to a lack of documentation, the use of temporary devices, or unauthorized systems connected to the network. This limits the ability to find vulnerabilities across the entire infrastructure.

Although vulnerability scanning is designed to be nonintrusive, it may slow down or impact the performance of critical systems and applications if it is poorly configured or includes too many details. Scans that are too resource-intensive may slow down essential systems and applications. Network performance may generate unnecessary lag, and too much traffic may trigger security system rules or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) alerts due to high network activity.

Ensure accurate integration with trusted vulnerability databases to maintain vulnerability scanning’s effectiveness. As cybersecurity threats continuously evolve, it is crucial to correctly bind vulnerability databases during scanning and monitor cybersecurity forums for the latest updates regarding recently updated zero-day vulnerabilities disclosed by vendors.

Steps in Vulnerability Scanning Process

The vulnerability scanning process involves several steps:

Step 1. Access to the system.

The scanning tool logs into the target system with credentials provided by administrators. With proper authentication, the scanning tool gathers information depending on the level of permissions, such as configuration files, software versions, and security settings.

Step 2. Asset inventory creation

Scanning tools build an inventory of all systems, applications, and devices they can access, cataloging details like operating system versions, patches, and security updates, user accounts that have access, installed software, network configuration, and open ports. This inventory is a baseline against known vulnerabilities, and its accuracy is crucial for a comprehensive assessment.

Step 3. Vulnerability matching

Once the asset inventory is established, the scanning tool compares each asset’s information against known vulnerabilities from its configured database, including Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), misconfigurations, vendor advisories, and missing patches. Renowned databases are the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), the Open-Source Vulnerability Database (OSVDB), and the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).

Step 4. Reporting and remediation

After comparing the asset inventory with the database, the scanning tool generates a detailed report identifying vulnerabilities and their security levels, such as critical, high, medium, and low. After reviewing and validating this report, security experts plan and prioritize remediation efforts to address weaknesses.

What to Consider in Implementing Vulnerability Scanning?

Before triggering any scans, defining the scope, the types of scans to be performed, and the schedule timings is essential. This planning phase helps exclude any critical system that requires special handling and coordinates with the IT team to avoid overlapping maintenance activities.

Scheduling scans outside normal business hours or in separate phases if business operations run 24/7 helps minimize disruptions. It is also essential to ensure that all targeted workstations and servers remain powered during the scan.

A well-documented and coordinated plan ensures the scanning process is completed efficiently and minimizes disruption.

Cost Factors

Vulnerability scanning costs can vary depending on:

• Environmental implementation, complexity of the network, or cloud-based deployments that may require multiple scanning deployments.
• Number of devices, IP addresses, servers, or applications scanned.
• Types of scanning tools used,
• Scan frequency and depth.

Scanning tools’ costs vary depending on their licensing models, features, and scalability. Furthermore, time, training, deployment, and report validation are costly and can be performed by in-house teams or outsourced to external vendors. Open-source tools are usually free but require third-party technical expertise to set up, configure, and maintain.

On-premises network scanning

On-premises network scanning cost is typically calculated per device, covering assets like

• Servers,
• Computer networks,
• Routers,
• Switches.

Web-application scanning

Scans are priced per application or domain targeting threats like:

• Cross-site scripting (XSS),
• SQL injections,
• Insecure APIs.

Pricing Models (Example: IP-Based)

Different tools provide different features and functionalities that can be bundled with discounts and paid in different frequencies, like monthly, quarterly, and yearly. For example, a tool might offer asset vulnerability scanning based on several IP addresses of target devices and offer licensing as follows:

• 1 – 50 IP addresses: 1,000 $ Annually / 275 $ Quarterly / 99 $ Monthly
• 51 – 250 IP addresses: 2500 $ Annually / 800 $ Quarterly / 250 $ Monthly
• 251 – 500 IP addresses: 5000 $ Annually / 1600 $ Quarterly / 500 $ Monthly

Pricing plans can differ depending on interval vs. external IP addresses, and they are bundled with maintenance agreements and usage based on active devices.

Vulnerability Assessments vs. Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability assessment is a broader process that uses scanning tools, manual analysis, and contextual review to evaluate an organization’s overall risk posture and support its information security strategy.

Vulnerability assessment tools scan environments in scope, such as internal networks, operating systems, applications, and code bases, comparing the versions, security updates and patches, and configurations with the connected database. This assessment provides a comprehensive report on potential vulnerabilities in a categorized format, with risk ratings like critical, high, medium, and low, and presents a holistic picture of the organization’s security posture at that time.

While it may begin with vulnerability scanning, an assessment goes further by:

• Analyzing the scan results in the context.
• Correlating vulnerabilities across systems
• Assigning business impact and likelihood
• Recommending mitigation strategies, such as recommending patches and security updates, consulting a vendor advisor for recommended configurations, and deploying additional security measures like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and network segmentations.

What is Penetration Testing (Pen Testing)?

Penetration testing goes beyond vulnerability detection. It proactively exploits these vulnerabilities to understand their impact on the system’s security context.

By uncovering software bugs, misconfigurations, design flaws, injection points, and unpatched systems that could be exploited to execute malicious scripts, Pen Testing provides a comprehensive report that helps strengthen an organization’s security posture. Many regulatory bodies require regular pen testing reports to provide insights into organizations’ security efforts to protect consumer-sensitive information.

Pen testing is a planned, authorized, and thoroughly documented activity conducted by certified professionals under a clear scope and agreement. It uses tools and techniques like those used by hackers. Still, it adheres to strict boundaries to ensure that exploitation is controlled, does not cause disruption, and avoids unnecessary exposure of sensitive data.

Pen testing simulates unauthorized access to web applications, network devices, and cloud-based SaaS applications to determine whether sensitive information can be extracted.

Implementation Considerations

Pen Testing is offensive and requires proper planning with defined boundaries and control over data and privilege flow.

• In the case of actual vulnerability exploitation, sensitive data can be extracted.
• It requires a lot of attack requirements and data processing, and unusual network traffic is generated, which may cause service disruption or degradation.
• Sometimes, a denial-of-service attack is also used to check the network bandwidth tolerance. That is why frequency and scheduling are controlled in coordination with all departments.

Methods to Conduct Penetration Testing

Penetration testing involves various techniques that simulate real-world attack scenarios to evaluate cybersecurity defenses. Some of the most frequently used methods include:

• Social Engineering Attacks. Social engineering methods are employed, such as impersonating IT support staff in a fake emergency to log in, solve critical issues, and gain access to login credentials.
• Phishing Campaigns. Phishing email attacks are another common way to send malicious links to redirect users to fake login pages and harvest credentials.
• Network Traffic Interception. Pen testing tools intercept network traffic and extract sensitive data, exploiting the system configuration of legacy systems and protocols to collect encrypted data.

Penetration Testing Approaches

For various reasons, companies decide between three security testing approaches or strategies that determine how much information the tester has about the evaluated system. These approaches influence which methods are used, how deep the testing goes, and what the goals are.

Black Box

Black Box penetration testing simulates an external attacker with no access or credentials. In this case, the tester does not require any internal knowledge. Simulated attacks used in this approach can include phishing emails or credential stuffing.

Grey Box

This approach simulates an insider threat or an attacker with some access. In this case, a tester requests partial internal knowledge, such as user credentials or specific internal resources. This testing approach enables the realization of attack scenarios such as lateral movement from compromised user credentials. Main examples include manual app interaction using known roles or password spraying with test accounts.

White Box

With this approach, a test simulates a trusted user or internal audit scenario. In this case, a tester needs full internal knowledge, such as source code, network maps, and credentials. This testing is ideal for reviewing source code for vulnerabilities or privilege escalation with full access. Methods that are used include code auditing or configuration file review.

Cost of Penetration Testing

Cost Factors

The penetration testing cost can vary significantly depending on network complexity, the number of devices or network segments, and the security controls implemented in networks and systems. Salaries and continuous training for an in-house team are added costs.

Another factor is the testing types and toolsets required accordingly. For example, security analysts don’t require system knowledge in black box testing. In contrast, extensive product knowledge is needed in white box testing, which is the case for grey box testing.

Average Cost

The actual cost of Pen Testing depends on factors like the scope of the testing, the complexity of the environment, the types of testing and tools used, the level of expertise, and the reputation of the testing team.

A small web application or single network may cost $4000 to $10,000, a mid-size application may cost $10,000 to $30,000, and an extensive enterprise application with a full scope may cost $30,000 to $100,000+.

Execution Strategy of Penetration Testing

1. Planning & Scoping

During this phase, organizations define objectives, scope, and rules of engagement. Target systems, applications, and components are identified with exclusions (e.g., sensitive systems, production databases).

2. Reconnaissance, or Information Gathering

A tester collects public and internal information about the target. They perform passive (e.g., OSINT) and active (e.g., port scanning) reconnaissance to identify potential attack vectors.

3. Vulnerability Identification

Using automated tools and manual techniques, the tester discovers known vulnerabilities. Misconfigurations, outdated systems, and insecure services are analyzed, and assets are mapped to exploits.

4. Exploitation

This is the phase when a tester attempts to exploit identified vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access, escalate privileges, or exfiltrate test data.

5. Post-Exploitation & Impact Analysis & Reporting

The tester assesses the extent of access or damage possible, determines if sensitive data or systems were at risk, and documents the business impact. As a result, they prepare a detailed report with discovered vulnerabilities, exploitation steps and proof of concept, risk ratings and impact analysis, and recommendations for remediation.

6. Remediation & Retesting

After sharing and discussing the results with the relevant teams, it’s time to support patching and implementing configuration fixes and perform retesting to verify that vulnerabilities have been resolved.

Penetration Testing vs Vulnerability Scanning: Similarities

Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing tools share a similar goal of identifying security weaknesses, but use different approaches.

Vulnerability Scanning

Penetration Testing

Vulnerability scanners are automated tools that perform routine checks on IT infrastructure. They compare system information against known vulnerability databases to detect missing patches, misconfigurations, or outdated software. These scans are typically scheduled and generate reports for remediation without interacting deeply with systems or attempting exploitation.

Penetration testing involves simulating real-world attacks to validate how vulnerabilities could be exploited. While penetration testers may use automated tools to inject payloads or test responses, the process includes manual techniques, contextual analysis, and controlled exploitation to assess the impact of breaches or fraud, such as gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data or escalating privileges.

Vulnerability Scanning vs Vulnerability Testing vs Penetration Testing

Factors	Vulnerability Scanning	Vulnerability Testing	Penetration Testing
Purpose	Detect known weaknesses using automated tools.	A broader evaluation includes scanning, manual validation, risk assessment, and remediation guidance.	Simulate real-world attacks to exploit vulnerabilities, showing how far an attacker could go.
Methods Used	Fully automated, uses tools to scan systems against known vulnerability databases (e.g., CVE).	Combines automated scanning with manual verification and contextual review.	Mostly manual and tactical. Uses tools but involves expert testers crafting exploits, simulating attacker behavior, and using interactive methods in a controlled environment.
Coverage and scope	It covers numerous assets quickly but with limited depth.	Focuses on depth over breadth, validating and contextualizing findings.	Targets specific systems or apps to understand the exploitability and impact.
Output	Generates a list of known vulnerabilities with severity ratings but without exploit confirmation.	Produces a report including risk levels, business context, and mitigation strategies.	Delivers a detailed report of successful exploits, attack paths, and business consequences.

Penetration Testing vs. Vulnerability Scanning : The Difference

Choosing between vulnerability scans and penetration testing, selecting the right tools and strategies depends on your company’s specific goals, risk profiles, and the scope of the security assessment.

Factors	Vulnerability Scanning	Penetration Testing
	Scanning
Approach	Vulnerability scanning is automated after initial configuration is complete. It scans systems for known weaknesses, such as missing patches or misconfigurations, by referencing public vulnerability databases and vendor advisories. While identifying vulnerabilities, vulnerability scanning does not evaluate whether those vulnerabilities can be exploited, unlike penetration testing, which focuses on testing the vulnerability to understand its real-world impact.	Penetration test involves significant manual effort. From configuring the environment and crafting attack scenarios to analyzing system responses, deep security expertise is required to differentiate between true positives and false positives and simulate realistic attack chains.
Purpose	It scans systems for known weaknesses, such as missing patches or misconfigurations, by referencing public vulnerability databases and vendor advisories.	The goal is to exploit vulnerabilities safely to demonstrate the potential business impact, such as data breaches or privilege escalation, which provides proof of risk.
Exploitability Assessment	While identifying vulnerabilities, vulnerability scanning does not evaluate whether those vulnerabilities can be exploited.	Penetration testing focuses on testing the vulnerability to understand its real-world impact.
Cost and Expertise	Vulnerability scanning is more cost-effective and automated.	Penetration testing is more expensive as it requires skilled security professionals to configure, execute, and analyze results.
Depth of Analysis	Provides a list of potential vulnerabilities but lacks context on real-world exploitability.	Provides a deeper, more contextual understanding of an organization’s security risks.
Ideal Use Cases	Vulnerability scanning is best suited for monitoring the security of infrastructure components such as operating systems and networks, and during development for components like libraries, third-party dependencies, and the codebase. It is valuable for infrastructure monitoring, initial stages of development, and compliance audits.	Penetration testing is an offensive approach that offers additional details about vulnerabilities exploited using interactive attack techniques. It provides insight into how attackers might breach systems and is ideal for production testing, security audits, and validating application resilience under real-world conditions.
Operational Impact	Typically, safe and non-intrusive, suitable for continuous monitoring.	Performing these tests in a controlled environment ensures the safety of operational systems while assessing resilience against real-world attacks.

Penetration test involves significant manual effort. From configuring the environment and crafting attack scenarios to analyzing system responses, deep security expertise is required to differentiate between true positives and false positives and simulate realistic attack chains. The goal is to exploit vulnerabilities safely to demonstrate the potential business impact, such as data breaches or privilege escalation, which provides proof of risk.

Vulnerability scanning is automated after initial configuration is complete. It scans systems for known weaknesses, such as missing patches or misconfigurations, by referencing public vulnerability databases and vendor advisories. While identifying vulnerabilities, vulnerability scanning does not evaluate whether those vulnerabilities can be exploited, unlike penetration testing, which focuses on testing the vulnerability to understand its real-world impact.

Subsequently, penetration testing is more expensive as it requires skilled security professionals to configure, execute, and analyze results. However, it provides a deeper, more contextual understanding of an organization’s security risks.

Vulnerability scanning is best suited for monitoring the security of infrastructure components such as operating systems and networks, and during development for components like libraries, third-party dependencies, and the codebase. It is valuable for infrastructure monitoring, initial stages of development, and compliance audits.

On the other hand, penetration testing is an offensive approach that offers additional details about vulnerabilities exploited using interactive attack techniques. It provides insight into how attackers might breach systems and is ideal for production testing, security audits, and validating application resilience under real-world conditions. Performing these tests in a controlled environment ensures the safety of operational systems while assessing resilience against real-world attacks.

Pen Test vs. Vulnerability Assessment

Penetration Testing	Vulnerability Assessments
Focusing on testing critical systems in real time using simulated interactive attacks and the details of actual exploitation scenarios.	Applied broadly across the IT infrastructure, including non-critical systems, without confirmation of an actual exploitable scenario.
Ideal for production environments, mimicking real-world attacks in a controlled environment without interrupting normal business functions.	Assessments are made in the lab environment for applications, and infrastructure is usually monitored in production.
Intrusive by nature, requiring careful planning and execution to avoid exposing sensitive data, interrupting services, or violating privacy policies.	Ideal for comprehensive analysis of known vulnerabilities after comparison with the database
After testing and gathering impact data, testers clean up configurations and deliver valuable insights in a detailed report, tailored for C-level stakeholders and manager decision-making.	Focus on identifying vulnerabilities and suggestions for a mitigation strategy.
Often uncovers zero-day exploits or hidden vulnerabilities that automated tools might skip, bolstering the information security program.	Categorize vulnerabilities with risk scores for assets in the assessment scope.
The scope of testing is definitive, maintaining boundaries to control how far a tester will go after they find a vulnerability.	Create a complete catalog of systems, applications, and devices to ensure complete security.
Helps mitigate high-risk problems by simulating attacker behavior, making it safer for organizations to address threats proactively.
Helpful in learning attacker behavior and improving overall job readiness of the security unit.	Lists known vulnerabilities in the asset inventory from the connected database.
Skilled security experts use tools and methodologies found in real cyberattacks applying offensive acts with a purpose to demonstrate risk.	Conduct automated scanning with little manual intervention.
Only exploitable vulnerabilities are flagged, and product design flaws or bugs that don’t pose threats are not escalated.	Provides a complete list of known vulnerabilities marked with severity and priority score.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How often should you perform a vulnerability scan?

Organizations with high-risk profiles should conduct regular weekly vulnerability scans to monitor infrastructure and applications continuously. However, the frequency can be adjusted based on new deployments, device security updates, and vulnerabilities discovered on vulnerability forums.

How long does it take?

It depends on the tool used, its architecture, and the type of assets in scope. For example, IP-based scans take 20 to 60 minutes, while web applications take 2 to 4 hours on average, depending on the application size. Some tools deploy agents, continuously monitoring operating systems and sending reports at scheduled intervals. 

What type of penetration test do you need?

The type of Pen Testing is usually determined by the goal you want to achieve, such as regulatory compliance requirements, threat analysis, or security weaknesses validations. The scope you have in mind is infrastructure security, application components analysis, and type, as well as black-box or white-box testing for internal systems threat analysis or attacks from outside the system.

How long does a penetration test take?

Penetration testing is primarily an in-depth analysis that takes longer than vulnerability scanning. The typical duration can range from 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the size and number of applications, the kind of tools required by the complexity of the application, and reporting and remediation suggestions or guidelines.