Rethinking Vulnerability Management: A Next-Gen Approach

Introduction: The evolving threat landscape

Cyber threats have grown in both frequency and sophistication. According to recent industry reports, attackers now exploit new vulnerabilities within hours of disclosure, not days or weeks as in the past. The average time to exploit a new vulnerability has decreased from 45 days in 2020 to just 15 days in 2023. As we move deeper into 2025, the average time to exploit is likely to shrink even further, with some critical vulnerabilities being weaponized within hours.

Organizations are expanding their digital footprints across cloud environments, remote workforces and IoT deployments, creating an increasingly complex attack surface. Unpatched vulnerabilities in software, hardware and network configurations provide attackers with potential entry points. Traditional vulnerability management approaches are struggling to keep pace, creating an urgent need for a more comprehensive strategy.

What is vulnerability management?

Vulnerability management (VM) is the systematic process of identifying, assessing, prioritizing, remediating and monitoring potential security weaknesses in software, hardware and computer systems.

Vulnerability vs. exploitable vulnerability

Understanding the distinction between these concepts is crucial for effective security prioritization:

• Vulnerability:
  • A weakness or opening for hackers to find a way in
  • Represents a potential risk
  • May or may not be exploited
• Exploitable vulnerability:
  • A vulnerability with available exploit code that attackers can use to gain unauthorized access, disrupt services, or steal data
  • Represents an active threat
  • Has a known exploit method available

Not all vulnerabilities are exploitable vulnerabilities, which is why risk-based prioritization is essential.

The business case for robust vulnerability management

Cyber attackers constantly search for security weaknesses in IT systems. When they discover exploitable vulnerabilities, they can:

• Gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems
• Exfiltrate valuable data
• Disrupt critical business operations
• Deploy ransomware and other malware
• Establish persistent access for future attacks

A robust vulnerability management program delivers several key benefits:

• Proactive defense: By finding and remediating vulnerabilities before attackers, organizations reduce the risk of successful attacks
• Regulatory compliance: Ensures adherence to industry security standards and legal requirements
• Business continuity: Minimizes disruptions and reduces risks associated with cyber attacks
• Enhanced security posture: Improves the overall security resilience against evolving threats
• Visibility and reporting: Provides real-time insights into potential threats through centralized, accurate, and up-to-date reporting

Traditional vulnerability management process

The traditional vulnerability management lifecycle consists of several key stages:

1. Vulnerability Identification
   1. Perform automated and manual scans to detect vulnerabilities
   2. Identify potential security weaknesses for further analysis
2. Assessment & Prioritization
   1. Evaluate vulnerabilities based on severity, exploitability, and potential business impact
   2. Prioritize vulnerabilities to address the most critical issues first
3. Remediation
   1. Apply patches to fix identified vulnerabilities
   2. Implement configuration changes to enhance security and mitigate risks
4. Verification & Monitoring
   1. Conduct regular audits to ensure vulnerabilities have been eliminated
   2. Monitor systems continuously for new vulnerabilities
5. Continuous Improvement
   1. Keep leadership informed about the progress and effectiveness of the VM program
   2. Regularly refine processes based on feedback and emerging threats

Common challenges of traditional vulnerability management

Despite its importance, organizations face significant challenges in implementing effective vulnerability management:

• Incomplete IT Inventory: Without an accurate and comprehensive inventory of all hardware and software assets, organizations struggle to identify which systems need patching.
• Complex Infrastructure: Managing vulnerabilities across hybrid environments (on-premises, cloud, IoT) creates significant complexity.
• Shadow IT and Unmanaged Assets: Unauthorized tools and forgotten assets introduce hidden risks that bypass standard security controls.
• Resource-Intensive Processes: Patching requires substantial time and effort from IT and security teams to identify, prioritize, and apply updates.
• Limited Prioritization Capability: Traditional CVSS-based scoring doesn't account for business context, leading to inefficient resource allocation.
• Expanded Attack Surface: Remote and hybrid work models have dramatically expanded the attack surface, making it harder to secure all endpoints.
• Tool Fragmentation: Using multiple security tools creates visibility gaps and prevents a unified approach to vulnerability management.

Case study: The Equifax breach

In 2017, Equifax suffered a major data breach affecting 147 million consumers. The breach resulted from an unpatched Apache Struts vulnerability (CVE-2017-5638) that had been disclosed months earlier. Despite having vulnerability scanning tools in place, Equifax failed to patch the vulnerability, highlighting the limitations of traditional vulnerability management approaches that lack proper asset inventory, prioritization and follow-through. Learn more about this breach.

The blind spot in traditional VM: What you don't see can hurt you

Organizations can't protect assets they don't know exist. Traditional vulnerability management typically covers only known, managed assets, leaving significant gaps in protection. Critical blind spots include:

• Unsecured cloud resources: Open S3 buckets, misconfigured databases, and other exposed cloud services
• Shadow IT: Employee-deployed SaaS tools without security oversight
• Third-party risks: Vulnerabilities in vendor systems with access to your environment
• Ephemeral assets: Short-lived cloud instances that appear and disappear quickly
• Forgotten systems: Legacy applications and infrastructure are no longer actively managed

Rethinking vulnerability management: The next-gen approach

To address these challenges, organizations need a Next-Generation Vulnerability Management (NGVM) strategy that integrates External Attack Surface Management (EASM), automation, risk-based prioritization, and real-time threat intelligence.

Understanding the complementary nature of VM and EASM

Four pillars of next-gen vulnerability management

1. Build a comprehensive asset inventory

You can't protect what you don't know exists. Start by mapping your full attack surface, including:

• Cloud & SaaS environments: Identify exposed cloud services, misconfigured storage, and unmanaged SaaS apps
• On-premises infrastructure: Ensure servers, workstations, and network devices are covered
• Shadow IT: Detect employee-accessed SaaS tools operating without security oversight
• Third-party risks: Monitor vendors, partners, and supply chain vulnerabilities

Approach: Implement EASM tools to discover unknown, unmanaged, and exposed assets in real-time.

2. Continuously monitor & adapt to evolving threats

Traditional VM relies on point-in-time scanning, but attackers don't wait for your next scan. NGVM uses:

• Continuous risk monitoring: Move from periodic scans to continuous monitoring
• Threat intelligence integration: Leverage real-time data to detect emerging threats
• Behavioral analytics & anomaly detection: Identify potential exploitation attempts

Approach: Implement systems and processes that continuously monitor and assess the entire attack surface.

3. Risk-based prioritization

Not all vulnerabilities are equal. Instead of patching based on CVSS scores alone, focus on:

• Exploitability: Prioritize vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited
• Business impact: Focus on vulnerabilities affecting critical systems or sensitive data
• Topology type: Consider whether the vulnerability is internal or external facing
• Threat intelligence: Use data on ransomware groups and other threats to prioritize remediation efforts

Approach: Implement AI-driven risk scoring that considers environmental factors to prioritize vulnerabilities posing immediate, real-world threats.

4. Automate Vulnerability Detection & Remediation

Security teams often struggle with long remediation times. Automation helps reduce manual effort and accelerates response:

• Automated scanning & patching: Reduce manual effort and speed up response times
• Self-healing security controls: Implement controls that automatically remediate unpatched systems
• Integration with CI/CD pipelines: Scan and fix vulnerabilities before deployment, embedding security into the SDLC

Approach: Implement automated workflows that scan, prioritize and trigger remediation actions, reducing human intervention where possible.

Implementing a next-gen vulnerability management program

Here's a practical framework for transitioning to a Next-Gen VM approach:

1. Establish a comprehensive patch management policy

• Define clear guidelines: Create explicit procedures for identifying, testing and deploying patches
• Ensure transparent communication: Maintain clear communication channels across security, IT and business teams
• Regular review: Continuously update the policy to reflect changing threats and business requirements

2. Maintain an updated asset inventory

• Tool recommendation: Sevco
  • Maintain a real-time, accurate inventory of all IT assets, including hardware, software and cloud resources
  • Ensure complete visibility over all assets, reducing the risk of unmanaged or unknown assets being exploited

3. Automate patch deployment

• Tool recommendations: Tenable, Tanium, VMware
  • Use Tanium for automated patch management and remediation
  • Tenable offers visibility into vulnerabilities for proactive patch management
  • VMware automates patching in virtualized environments with minimal disruption
  • Reduce manual effort and ensure timely, consistent updates across systems

4. Implement risk-based prioritization

• Tool recommendations: Tenable, CrowdStrike, Sevco
  • Use Tenable's risk-based vulnerability management to prioritize patches based on VPR (Vulnerability Priority Rating), exploitability, and business impact
  • Leverage CrowdStrike's threat intelligence to identify actively exploited vulnerabilities
  • Focus resources on the most critical vulnerabilities, improving overall security posture

5. Conduct thorough testing and maintain backups

• Test patches rigorously in a staging environment before deployment
• Regularly back up systems to minimize downtime in case of patch-related failures
• Ensure patches don't disrupt operations and maintain a fallback option if issues arise

6. Schedule strategic patching windows

• Plan patch deployments during off-peak hours or maintenance windows
• Minimize impact on users and business operations
• Reduce the likelihood of disruptions during critical business hours

7. Create a robust rollback plan

• Develop clear procedures to quickly revert to the previous state if a patch causes issues
• Provide a safety net to restore systems to a known good state
• Minimize potential downtime from problematic patches

8. Monitor and audit patch compliance

• Tool recommendations: Splunk, XSOAR
  • Use Splunk for centralized log management and analysis
  • Implement XSOAR to orchestrate and automate incident response
  • Ensure patches are correctly applied and compliance is maintained

9. Train and educate employees

• Educate employees on the importance of regular updates
• Ensure everyone understands their role in maintaining security
• Reduce human error in the patching process

Sample next-gen VM workflow

1. Asset Discovery: Use Sevco to identify and maintain a complete inventory of all assets
2. Vulnerability Scanning: Conduct continuous scans with Tenable
3. Threat Detection: Monitor endpoints with security tools and analyze logs with Splunk
4. Risk Prioritization: Prioritize vulnerabilities using Tenable's risk-based approach and CrowdStrike's threat intelligence
5. Automated Remediation: Apply patches and fixes using Tanium, Puppet or Chocolatey
6. Integration: Use XSOAR to orchestrate workflows between all tools and Splunk for centralized log management
7. Reporting: Generate comprehensive reports to track progress and inform leadership

Case study: Global financial services company transforms VM program

A leading financial services organization with over 10,000 employees and a complex hybrid infrastructure faced significant challenges with its traditional vulnerability management program. Despite investing in multiple security tools, they struggled with:

• An average patch time of 45+ days for critical vulnerabilities
• Limited visibility into their cloud assets
• Frequent security incidents related to unpatched systems
• Overwhelming volume of vulnerabilities with no clear prioritization

By implementing the next-gen vulnerability management approach outlined in this article, they achieved:

• 75 percent reduction in mean time to remediate critical vulnerabilities
• 90 percent improvement in asset visibility across cloud and on-premises environments
• 60 percent decrease in security incidents related to the exploitation of known vulnerabilities
• More efficient allocation of security resources by focusing on the highest-risk vulnerabilities

The organization credits its success to the integrated approach combining traditional vulnerability management with external attack surface management and the risk-based prioritization model.

Conclusion: Towards a more resilient security posture

As cyber threats continue to evolve in sophistication and frequency, organizations must transition from reactive, scan-based vulnerability management to a continuous, risk-based, and automated approach.

The next-generation vulnerability management framework presented in this article combines traditional VM with External Attack Surface Management, providing a comprehensive solution for today's complex threat landscape. By focusing on complete asset visibility, continuous monitoring, risk-based prioritization, and automation, organizations can significantly improve their security posture while optimizing resource allocation.

Next steps for your organization

1. Assess your current vulnerability management program against the next-gen framework outlined in this article
2. Identify gaps in your asset inventory, especially unknown and unmanaged assets
3. Evaluate your current prioritization methodology and determine if it accounts for business context and threat intelligence
4. Consider automation opportunities for scanning, prioritization, and remediation
5. Develop a roadmap for transitioning to a next-gen vulnerability management approach