Vulnerability Management Policy

Vulnerability Management Policy

Overview & Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that [Company Name] identifies, assesses, and remediates security vulnerabilities in a timely and consistent manner. Proactively managing vulnerabilities helps reduce risk to company systems, data, and customer trust.

Scope

This policy applies to all cloud infrastructure, applications, devices, and systems owned or operated by [Company Name], including any third-party services that impact our security posture.

Policy

• Vulnerability Scanning
  • [Company Name] will perform regular automated scans of production systems and environments at least monthly, or more frequently if dictated by regulatory or client requirements.
  • Scans will include both internal and external assets, with results documented and stored for audit purposes.
  • Open-source dependencies and libraries must be monitored using approved scanning tools.
• Risk Rating & Prioritization
  • Detected vulnerabilities will be categorized using standard severity levels (e.g., Critical, High, Medium, Low) based on CVSS scores or vendor guidance.
  • Risk prioritization will consider exploitability, business impact, and exposure level.
• Remediation Timeline
  • Critical vulnerabilities must be remediated within 7 days of discovery.
  • High vulnerabilities must be remediated within 14 days.
  • Medium and Low vulnerabilities should be addressed during routine maintenance, or as part of backlog grooming for engineering teams.
• Patch Management
  • Security patches must be applied promptly based on the risk classification.
  • All patches and updates should be tested in a staging environment before being deployed to production, when possible.
• Exceptions
  • Any delays or exceptions to remediation timelines must be approved by the Security Officer or CTO and documented with mitigation steps (e.g., firewall rule, isolation).
• Reporting & Communication
  • Vulnerability reports are shared with engineering or DevOps teams through secure channels (e.g., ticketing system).
  • Stakeholders will be notified if a vulnerability could impact clients, SLAs, or service availability.
• Vendor Vulnerabilities
  • Third-party services and tools will be monitored for disclosed vulnerabilities.
  • Affected vendors must demonstrate a reasonable remediation plan or may be re-evaluated for risk impact.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Post-incident reviews will be conducted for any exploited vulnerabilities.
  • The vulnerability management process will be reviewed annually and after major incidents.

Compliance

Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or contract. [Company Name] reserves the right to audit systems for compliance and enforce remediation timelines.

Review History