A Vulnerability Assessment is a process essentially acting like a “health check” to discover potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers, allowing for timely remediation and mitigation strategies to be implemented; it involves scanning for known vulnerabilities, assigning severity levels, and recommending corrective actions to address them.
Key points
Purpose:
To identify potential security gaps and risks within a system by examining for known vulnerabilities like outdated software, misconfigurations, or weak passwords.
Process:
–Scanning:Automated tools scan systems to detect vulnerabilities using various methods like port scanning, protocol analysis, and signature matching.
-Analysis:Identified vulnerabilities are categorized based on severity and potential impact.
-Reporting:Detailed reports are generated outlining vulnerabilities, their risks, and recommended remediation steps.
Benefits
Improves overall security posture by proactively addressing vulnerabilities
Formal description and evaluation of the vulnerabilities in an information system.
SOURCE: SP 800-53; SP 800-37
Systematic examination of an information system or product to determine the adequacy of security measures, identify security deficiencies, provide data from which to predict the effectiveness of proposed security measures, and confirm the adequacy of such measures after implementation.
