A strong vulnerability management program is not just about running a scan once in a while it’s about having a structured lifecycle that ensures weaknesses are consistently discovered, assessed, and resolved before they can be exploited.
Below is a step-by-step framework to help IT and security leaders design a practical, repeatable, and scalable vulnerability management program.
Step 1: Establish Governance and Ownership
Clear governance ensures accountability and prevents vulnerabilities from falling through the cracks.
Key Actions
- Define roles and responsibilities for vulnerability management
- SOC analysts handle scanning
- IT teams manage remediation
- CISOs track risk and executive reporting
- Set clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for remediation timelines:
- Critical vulnerabilities: Fix within 7 days
- High-risk vulnerabilities: Fix within 15 days
- Medium / Low risk: Address within 30–60 days
- Create a formal policy covering processes, exceptions, and escalation paths
Example:
A financial services organization may enforce stricter SLAs for internet-facing systems while allowing longer timelines for isolated internal assets.
Step 2: Asset Discovery and Inventory
You can’t secure what you don’t know exists.
Best Practices
- Maintain a complete inventory of:
- Servers and endpoints
- Cloud instances and containers
- IoT devices and shadow IT
- Tag assets based on business criticality
- Automate discovery using tools such as Qualys, Rapid7, Tenable.io, or cloud-native solutions
Tip:
Integrate asset discovery with a CMDB to eliminate visibility gaps.
Step 3: Vulnerability Scanning
Consistent and well-timed scanning is the foundation of the program.
Scanning Strategy
- Run regular authenticated and unauthenticated scans
- Align scan schedules with maintenance windows or patch cycles
- Use specialized tools where needed:
- Web applications: Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP
- Containers: Aqua Security, Anchore
- Cloud: AWS Inspector, Azure Security Center
- Test scans in staging environments to avoid production disruption
Step 4: Prioritization and Risk Scoring
Not all vulnerabilities deserve the same urgency.
Risk-Based Prioritization
- Use CVSS as a baseline and enhance it with:
- Asset criticality
- Exposure level (internal vs external)
- Exploit availability from threat intelligence
- Categorize findings into:
- Immediate remediation (actively exploited)
- Scheduled remediation (high risk, no active exploit)
- Monitor only (low impact, low probability)
Example:
A medium-severity flaw on a public-facing web server with known exploits should take priority over a high-severity issue on an isolated lab system.
For CVSS scoring standards, refer to the official documentation from the FIRST Organization.
Step 5: Remediation and Mitigation
Execution is where many programs struggle.
Common Remediation Actions
- Patch operating systems and applications
- Apply secure configuration changes
- Implement compensating controls such as:
- Firewall rules
- Network segmentation
- Track progress using tools like Jira, ServiceNow, or other ITSM platforms
- Document approved exceptions with supporting risk justification
Step 6: Continuous Monitoring and Reporting
Vulnerability management is not a one-time exercise.
Ongoing Activities
- Monitor newly disclosed vulnerabilities via:
- NVD feeds
- Vendor advisories
- Threat intelligence platforms
- Perform rescans to validate remediation
- Build dashboards showing:
- Vulnerability trends
- SLA compliance
- High-risk asset exposure
Audience-Specific Reporting
- Executives: Business risk and exposure
- Technical teams: Detailed remediation guidance
Step 7: Continuous Improvement
A mature program evolves with the threat landscape.
Improvement Practices
- Conduct quarterly or biannual program reviews
- Adjust SLAs based on risk and capacity
- Run lessons-learned sessions after major incidents
- Integrate vulnerability management with SIEM, SOAR, and incident response workflows
Example:
Frequent SLA breaches may indicate resource gaps, poor automation, or misalignment between security and IT teams.
How DeepAegis Supports the Vulnerability Management Lifecycle
At DeepAegis, we help organizations operationalize vulnerability management beyond basic scanning.
Our Capabilities
- Governance Frameworks: Customized policies, SLAs, and ownership models
- Advanced Discovery & Scanning: Coverage across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments
- Risk-Based Prioritization: Intelligence-driven remediation focus
- Remediation Support: Hands-on patching, hardening, and compensating controls
- Continuous Monitoring: 24/7 oversight with proactive alerting
- Executive & Technical Reporting: Clear insights for leadership and delivery teams
- Program Optimization: Ongoing reviews to strengthen long-term resilience
With DeepAegis, vulnerability management becomes more than a checkbox — it becomes a structured, measurable, and resilient defense strategy.