What is a Vulnerability Assessment?
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 about vulnerability assessments:
Purpose:
To identify potential security gaps and risks within a system by examining for known vulnerabilities like outdated software, misconfigurations, or weak passwords.
-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.
- Improves overall security posture by proactively addressing vulnerabilities
- Enables informed decision-making regarding security priorities
- Helps comply with industry regulations and standards
Types of vulnerability assessments:
- Network vulnerability assessment: Scans network devices for vulnerabilities
- Application vulnerability assessment: Analyzes web applications for security flaws
- Host-based vulnerability assessment: Examines individual systems like servers and workstations for vulnerabilities
VENDOR DEFINITIONS
VA Tools and Best Practices – Imperva
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Black Duck
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CrowdStrike
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SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS:
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.
SOURCE: SP 800-53A; CNSSI-4009