vulnerability management (VM)

What is Vulnerability Management (VM)?

Vulnerability management is the continuous process of identifying, prioritizing, and managing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. With new weaknesses emerging daily, quarterly scans and occasional patching are no longer enough. Today, continuous vulnerability management is essential to stay protected.

Vulnerability Management vs Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability scanning is the use of software tools to detect and report known security flaws in your IT systems. These tools run thousands of tests by probing your systems and gathering data to flag exploitable weaknesses.

Vulnerability management, on the other hand, is a broader process. It includes:

• Deciding whether to fix, mitigate, or accept each risk
• Determining which issues to resolve first
• Continuously monitoring for new threats

Where scanning identifies flaws, vulnerability management focuses on risk-based decisions and remediation.

The 4 Steps of a Vulnerability Management Program

Once you’ve built a full inventory of your IT assets, an effective vulnerability management program follows these steps:

1. Find

Use automated tools to continuously scan and test your systems for known vulnerabilities.

2. Prioritize

Assess each issue by severity and exploitability to understand which pose the greatest risk to your business.

3. Fix

Remediate or snooze vulnerabilities based on your prioritization strategy.

4. Monitor

Keep scanning regularly for new, resurfaced, or reintroduced vulnerabilities.

How is Vulnerability Management Different from Attack Surface Management (ASM)?

Attack Surface Management (ASM) goes beyond scanning. It focuses on:

• Discovering unknown assets and services
• ‍Reducing exposure to future threats

Where VM finds and fixes known flaws, ASM helps prevent unknown or future threats by:

• Removing unnecessary services from the internet
• Locking down access (e.g., placing services behind a VPN)
• Reducing your total external attack surface

This proactive protection is how ASM complements traditional VM.

Read our full guide on ASM vs VM.

What to Look for in a Vulnerability Management Solution

You no longer need a complex stack of tools or deep security expertise to manage vulnerabilities. A modern solution should offer:

• Continuous scanning of internal and external systems
• Asset discovery
• Prioritization based on real-world threat intelligence
• Simple remediation guidance with clear instructions
• Compliance-ready reports for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and more
• Cloud and application coverage

Why Choose Intruder?

Intruder is a powerful vulnerability management platform that makes it easy to:

• Continuously monitor your attack surface
• Identify the most critical issues fast
• Get clear, step-by-step remediation guidance

Whether you’re just starting out or scaling your program for compliance, Intruder simplifies VM without sacrificing power.

Try Intruder free for 14 days and kickstart your vulnerability management journey today.