📘 09-03: Security Assessments¶
📌 Finding Weaknesses Before Attackers Do¶
| Assessment | What it does |
|---|---|
| Vulnerability scan | Automatically checks systems for known weaknesses/misconfigurations |
| Penetration test | Actively exploits weaknesses (with authorization) to show real impact |
| Posture assessment | Evaluates overall security controls and readiness |
| Audit | Verifies compliance with policy/standards |
A vulnerability scan finds problems; a pen test exploits them to prove impact.
📌 Vulnerability Tracking¶
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CVE | Uniquely numbered public vulnerability (e.g., CVE-2021-44228) |
| CVSS | Severity score (0–10) based on exploitability + impact |
Common scanners: Nessus, OpenVAS, Qualys.
📌 Pen Test Knowledge Levels¶
| Type | Tester knowledge |
|---|---|
| Black box | No prior knowledge (external attacker view) |
| White box | Full knowledge (source, configs) |
| Gray box | Partial knowledge |
📌 Remediation¶
Findings are prioritized (often by CVSS) and remediated via patching, configuration changes, or compensating controls. Re-scan to confirm fixes.
Tip
Key idea — Use vulnerability scans to find issues and pen tests to prove exploitability. Track flaws with CVE IDs and prioritize by CVSS score, then patch and re-scan.
See also: Policies, Physical Security & Continuity, IDS & IPS
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