Vulnerability Management: The Ultimate Recap Guide

What Is Vulnerability Management?

Vulnerability management is the cyclical process of identifying, prioritizing, reporting, remediating, and monitoring vulnerabilities.

Vulnerabilities give threat actors an opportunity to breach a target organization’s digital infrastructure. Once inside, they can execute malicious code, encrypt and steal data, take control of critical systems, and practically do anything they want. That said, effective and efficient vulnerability management has become critical.

What Are Vulnerabilities?

Vulnerabilities refer to weaknesses in software or hardware that attackers can exploit to gain unauthorized access to a system.

Vulnerabilities in popular systems are usually reported and detailed on MITRE’s Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) list. However, zero-day vulnerabilities or previously unknown flaws in a system or an application with no available patch yet may sometimes arise.

Why Is Vulnerability Management Important?

A vulnerability management program can help detect and remediate known and unknown vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

An excellent example of how an unpatched vulnerability can lead to a cyber attack is the Equifax data breach. Threat actors exploited a vulnerability in Apache Struts, an open-source web application framework. The vulnerability, known as “CVE-2017-5638,” led to the theft and exposure of the credit card data of more than 200,000 of the company’s customers.

Effective vulnerability management helps organizations detect, prioritize, report, and patch vulnerabilities with the ultimate goal of protecting critical systems and sensitive information.

Related materials

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How Does Vulnerability Management Work?

Vulnerability management uses a combination of tools and solutions that enable the following processes:

Step #1: Vulnerability Identification

The first step in the overall vulnerability management process is identifying vulnerabilities in all of an organization’s connected systems. That requires a comprehensive and updated inventory of all assets, which would then be scanned for weaknesses.

Vulnerability scanners and external attack surface management (EASM) platforms are popularly used in this stage. These tools and solutions can:

• Catalog all assets comprising an organization’s connected network
• Tap into vulnerability intelligence repositories 
• Detect vulnerabilities in all assets

Vulnerability identification or discovery is typically done regularly, preferably on an automated schedule to detect threats immediately.

Step #2: Vulnerability Prioritization

After discovering which assets are exposed, the next step is to rank them. Many organizations may already have an assigned value for each vulnerability, especially those that apply the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).

Still, it would be more efficient to assess how relevant and critical the discovered exposures are to the organization. You may find it helpful to ask the following questions:

• How critical is the affected asset? Does it contain sensitive information?
• Are there known exploits that threat actors can use?
• What will happen if the vulnerability gets exploited?
• Are there ongoing cyber attacks in your industry that leverage the vulnerability?

Step #3:  Vulnerability Remediation

After listing all the vulnerabilities discovered according to priority, you may allocate them to security team members for remediation. You can start fixing them by applying patches, upgrading affected assets, or implementing additional security measures.

Attack surface management (ASM) platforms and vulnerability management tools can provide actionable remediation steps for each vulnerability based on various intelligence sources.

Step #4: Vulnerability Reporting

While vulnerability reporting is not required by law in all countries, several do have related regulations. The U.S., the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, for example, have vulnerability disclosure policies that urge entities to report vulnerabilities to the proper authorities.

This stage is thus an integral part of the vulnerability management process. Security teams detail risks associated with specific vulnerabilities in the report. They will also need to include their remediation plans.

Step #5: Vulnerability Monitoring

Vulnerability management is a never-ending process. As such, steps 1–4 should be repeated regularly to ensure effective management of existing bugs. Threat actors come up with new exploits all the time, so constantly monitoring your assets for weaknesses is a must.

Aside from new exploits, zero-day vulnerabilities also pop up all the time, making vulnerability monitoring crucial to the whole process.

How Do Various Industries Use Vulnerability Management?

Organizations across industries face specific challenges that require the implementation of targeted vulnerability management practices. We provided some examples for various industries below.

Government Agencies

Federal agencies and other government organizations employ vulnerability management to minimize data exposure risks and protect critical infrastructure from nation-state attackers. Many government agencies are also mandated to follow strict regulations. For example, the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requires federal agencies to implement vulnerability management programs.

In sum, government agencies use vulnerability management to detect weakened assets that can notably lead to:

• The exposure of sensitive data that can affect a country’s national interests
• Cyber attacks that may jeopardize national security and critical infrastructure integrity
• Noncompliance with cybersecurity regulations

Financial Organizations

As one of the most lucrative cyber attack targets, financial institutions need to manage vulnerabilities efficiently. Aside from training employees to identify and report weaknesses in all digital touchpoints, they will also be better off with a vulnerability management process that enables them to:

• Detect and remediate vulnerabilities in assets that hold sensitive client information
• Discover and protect exposed digital touchpoints that financially motivated attackers can target
• Comply with regulations that require vulnerability management programs, such as those mandated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)

Online Marketplaces

API marketplaces, e-commerce companies, and other online retail platforms are susceptible to a wide range of vulnerabilities because they rely on web application frameworks, cloud platforms, and other attacker-exposed technologies. As such, vulnerability management is a critical part of any online marketplace’s cybersecurity program, aiding them in:

• Discovering and remediating vulnerabilities specific to their online environments and platforms
• Securing external-facing assets that handle customer payment information and other sensitive data
• Demonstrating regulatory compliance to avoid paying costly penalties

Most web service providers and cloud platforms provide vulnerability management services. For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers Amazon Inspector, while Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides a service called “Cloud Security Command Center.” However, most online retail platforms use a combination of services and may need a vendor-agnostic vulnerability management solution.

IT and Software Companies

Incorporating vulnerability management into the software development process enables AppSec and ProdSec teams to detect security gaps before fully deploying a product. Furthermore, a sound vulnerability management process helps security teams:

• Protect software and their users from attacks
• Implement a proactive patch management approach where security patches are immediately applied as they get released
• Ensure that systems are configured correctly and securely

Healthcare Organizations

Vulnerabilities in connected healthcare IT systems may lead to denial-of-service (DoS) and ransomware attacks that can damage ambulance networks, life support systems, remote patient monitoring tools, and other critical systems. These threats make vulnerability management essential to a healthcare entity’s cybersecurity strategy since it helps security teams:

• Protect exposed assets that hold sensitive patient information
• Detect and mitigate vulnerabilities that can pave the way for ransomware and other cyber attacks

Comply with healthcare regulations that require vulnerability management programs, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

How Can Attaxion Help with Vulnerability Management?

As an EASM platform, vulnerability management is embedded into Attaxion’s capabilities. We can help your organization with the overall vulnerability management process, from vulnerability identification and prioritization to vulnerability remediation, reporting, and monitoring.

We use advanced asset discovery methods to catalog all attacker-exposed assets in combination with patent-pending reconnaissance techniques, rule-based heuristics, and machine learning (ML)-powered engines to detect and prioritize vulnerabilities.

By tapping into various vulnerability repositories and deep exploit intelligence sources, Attaxion provides automated and actionable remediation workflows that can inform vulnerability disclosures and make reporting easy.

Attaxion can continuously monitor systems for new assets and vulnerabilities, helping organizations stay ahead of their growing digital infrastructure and the evolving threat landscape.

Ready to see Attaxion in action? Schedule a customized demo now.

Learn More

• 4 Common Network Vulnerabilities
• How to Find Vulnerabilities in a Website