Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process
Description
Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
Implementation Checklist
Tool Recommendations
Continuous vulnerability assessment and exposure management across IT assets, cloud, containers, and OT
Tenable · Per-asset subscription
Cloud-based vulnerability management, detection, and response with integrated patch management and asset inventory
Qualys · Per-asset subscription
Vulnerability management platform with live dashboards, risk prioritization, and remediation workflows
Rapid7 · Per-asset subscription
Threats & Vulnerabilities (CIS RAM)
Threat Scenarios
Ad-Hoc Vulnerability Response Leading to Missed Critical CVEs
ConfidentialityWithout a documented vulnerability management process, critical vulnerabilities like Log4Shell or MOVEit are addressed inconsistently, with some teams patching immediately while others remain exposed for months.
Inconsistent Vulnerability Prioritization Enabling Exploitation
IntegrityAbsence of a formal process means vulnerabilities are triaged based on individual judgment rather than risk-based criteria, allowing high-severity vulnerabilities in internet-facing assets to persist while low-risk internal issues consume remediation resources.
Regulatory Non-Compliance from Undocumented Vulnerability Handling
AvailabilityAuditors and regulators find no evidence of a structured vulnerability management program, resulting in compliance failures and potential fines under frameworks like PCI DSS or HIPAA that mandate documented vulnerability management.
Vulnerabilities (When Safeguard Absent)
No Defined Vulnerability Management Policy or Procedures
The organization has no written policy defining vulnerability identification, assessment, and remediation responsibilities, leaving each team to handle vulnerabilities independently with no accountability.
Undefined Roles and Responsibilities for Vulnerability Handling
Without a documented process, there is no clear ownership of vulnerability scanning, triage, remediation, or exception approval, causing critical vulnerabilities to fall through the cracks between IT and security teams.
No Vulnerability Severity Classification Framework
The organization lacks a standardized severity classification scheme (such as CVSS-based thresholds) for prioritizing vulnerability remediation, resulting in inconsistent treatment of similar risks across business units.
Evidence Requirements
| Type | Evidence Item | Collection Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Configuration screenshots or exports showing protection controls enabled | Captured quarterly |
| Document | Procedure documentation for protection measures | Reviewed annually |
| Technical | Vulnerability scan reports showing scope and findings | Per scan cycle |
| Record | Vulnerability remediation tracking with SLA compliance metrics | Monthly |
| Document | Governing policy document (current, approved, communicated) | Reviewed annually |