Vulnerability Management Lifecycle: Step by Step

Vulnerability management is not a “one-and-done” task—it’s an ongoing cycle. Identifying and remediating vulnerabilities is just the beginning. You also need to manage new threats, prioritize risks, and deal with attacks as they emerge. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the vulnerability management lifecycle and the best practices you can adopt to protect your organization.

What is Vulnerability Management?

Vulnerability management (VM) involves identifying, reviewing, remediating, and documenting security vulnerabilities across your environment. It’s a key part of your cybersecurity plan, helping to reduce risks before they lead to security incidents. However, it’s not a standalone solution—incident response planning is crucial for addressing breaches that do occur.

Challenges in Vulnerability Management

Managing vulnerabilities comes with its own set of challenges, including:

• Complex configurations: Certain vulnerabilities may require specific configurations to be fixed, but changing them could disrupt internal applications. For instance, fixing a misconfiguration in an S3 bucket might affect other business-critical systems.

• Patching complications: While patching is necessary, updates must be tested before deployment to avoid disrupting operations. This delays the remediation process.

• Coverage gaps: Many vulnerability management tools have blind spots, leaving untracked assets vulnerable to attacks. About 70% of companies have faced attacks stemming from unknown or unmanaged assets.

• Scanning challenges: Running network scans effectively mimics an attacker’s methods to find weaknesses. However, customized scanning tools for unique environments can be difficult to build.

Vulnerability Management Lifecycle Steps

The vulnerability management lifecycle is continuous, requiring repeated scanning, remediation, and monitoring to stay ahead of new risks. Here are the key steps:

1. Asset Inventory and Discovery: Identify all hardware, software, and network devices in your environment. Every component is a potential risk.

2. Vulnerability and Risk Assessment: Assess identified risks to determine if they’re valid and how difficult they are to exploit. Consider the potential business impact and whether there are existing controls to mitigate the risk.

3. Risk Prioritization: Focus on the most critical vulnerabilities first. High-severity risks on important assets should be remediated as soon as possible.

4. Patch Management and Remediation: Apply patches or make configuration changes to eliminate vulnerabilities. Some fixes are quick, but more complex issues may take weeks to resolve.

5. Remediation Planning and Verification: Document each vulnerability and the steps taken to fix it, including details like software versions and deployment methods. Verify that the remediation was successful.

6. Continuous Monitoring and Improvements: Use monitoring tools to detect new vulnerabilities. Cloud providers often offer built-in monitoring, but agents may be required for on-premises infrastructure.

7. Reporting: Provide regular reports to stakeholders to demonstrate the effectiveness of vulnerability management efforts and justify the cybersecurity budget.

Best Practices for Vulnerability Management

• Regular vulnerability scans: Keep up with the changing environment by regularly scanning for new issues.

• Automated patch management: Speed up remediation with automation to patch vulnerabilities as soon as they’re identified.

• Risk-based prioritization: Focus on high-risk vulnerabilities first, especially those on mission-critical systems.

• Collaboration and communication: Ensure that all departments are informed about changes and potential impacts on operations.

• Incident response preparedness: Have a solid incident response plan in place and conduct regular exercises to prepare your team for potential exploits.

Moving Toward Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)

As cyber threats evolve, so must your vulnerability management strategy. Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) allows organizations to dynamically shift priorities based on the latest vulnerabilities and threats. Most tools currently monitor only the assets you own, but external risks, particularly in the digital supply chain, remain.

Flawatch’s Attack Surface Management (ASM) can help you manage vulnerabilities from an attacker’s perspective. By keeping an eye on your entire attack surface—including supply chain risks—Flawatch strengthens your defenses before vulnerabilities can be exploited.

Want to see how Flawatch can help secure your environment? Request a demo or a scan today.