Vulnerability Management

Vulnerability Management Skill

Manage the complete vulnerability lifecycle from discovery to remediation with scan processing, risk prioritization, and tracking capabilities.

Capabilities

• Scan Processing: Parse vulnerability scan results (Nessus, Qualys, generic CSV)
• Risk Prioritization: Score and prioritize vulnerabilities by risk
• Remediation Tracking: Track remediation progress with SLAs
• Exception Management: Document risk acceptances and exceptions
• Reporting: Generate executive and technical vulnerability reports
• Metrics: Track vulnerability management KPIs

Quick Start

from vuln_utils import VulnerabilityScanner, RemediationTracker, VulnMetrics

# Process scan results
scanner = VulnerabilityScanner()
scanner.add_finding('CVE-2024-1234', 'Critical', 'SERVER-01', 'Remote code execution')
scanner.add_finding('CVE-2024-5678', 'High', 'SERVER-02', 'SQL injection')

# Track remediation
tracker = RemediationTracker()
tracker.add_vulnerability('CVE-2024-1234', 'Critical', 'SERVER-01')
tracker.assign('CVE-2024-1234', 'admin-team', due_date='2024-02-01')
tracker.mark_remediated('CVE-2024-1234', 'Patched')

# Generate report
print(scanner.generate_report())

Usage

Scan Processing

Parse and normalize vulnerability scan results.

Example:

from vuln_utils import VulnerabilityScanner

scanner = VulnerabilityScanner()

# Add findings manually
scanner.add_finding(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-1234',
    severity='Critical',
    affected_host='SERVER-01',
    description='Remote code execution in Apache',
    cvss_score=9.8,
    solution='Update to version 2.4.55'
)

scanner.add_finding(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-5678',
    severity='High',
    affected_host='SERVER-02',
    description='SQL injection vulnerability',
    cvss_score=8.2,
    solution='Apply security patch KB12345'
)

# Parse from CSV
scanner.import_csv('scan_results.csv')

# Parse Nessus CSV export
scanner.import_nessus_csv('nessus_export.csv')

# Get summary
print(scanner.get_summary())

# Filter by severity
critical = scanner.get_by_severity('Critical')
high = scanner.get_by_severity('High')

# Get unique CVEs
cves = scanner.get_unique_cves()

# Generate report
print(scanner.generate_report())
print(scanner.generate_executive_summary())

Risk Prioritization

Prioritize vulnerabilities based on multiple risk factors.

Example:

from vuln_utils import RiskPrioritizer

prioritizer = RiskPrioritizer()

# Add vulnerabilities with context
prioritizer.add_vulnerability(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-1234',
    cvss_score=9.8,
    affected_host='SERVER-01',
    asset_criticality='high',
    exploit_available=True,
    internet_facing=True
)

prioritizer.add_vulnerability(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-5678',
    cvss_score=8.2,
    affected_host='SERVER-02',
    asset_criticality='medium',
    exploit_available=False,
    internet_facing=False
)

# Calculate risk scores
prioritizer.calculate_risk_scores()

# Get prioritized list
prioritized = prioritizer.get_prioritized_list()
for vuln in prioritized:
    print(f"{vuln['cve_id']}: Risk Score {vuln['risk_score']}")

# Get top N by risk
top_10 = prioritizer.get_top_n(10)

# Generate risk report
print(prioritizer.generate_risk_report())

Remediation Tracking

Track vulnerability remediation progress.

Example:

from vuln_utils import RemediationTracker

tracker = RemediationTracker()

# Add vulnerabilities to track
tracker.add_vulnerability(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-1234',
    severity='Critical',
    affected_host='SERVER-01',
    sla_days=7  # Critical = 7 days
)

tracker.add_vulnerability(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-5678',
    severity='High',
    affected_host='SERVER-02',
    sla_days=30  # High = 30 days
)

# Assign to teams
tracker.assign('CVE-2024-1234', 'infrastructure-team', due_date='2024-02-01')
tracker.assign('CVE-2024-5678', 'application-team', due_date='2024-02-15')

# Update status
tracker.update_status('CVE-2024-1234', 'in_progress', notes='Patch scheduled for maintenance window')

# Mark as remediated
tracker.mark_remediated('CVE-2024-1234', method='Patched to version 2.4.55')

# Check SLA compliance
overdue = tracker.get_overdue()
at_risk = tracker.get_at_risk(days=3)  # Due within 3 days

# Generate status report
print(tracker.generate_status_report())

Exception Management

Document risk acceptances and exceptions.

Example:

from vuln_utils import ExceptionManager

exceptions = ExceptionManager()

# Create exception request
exceptions.create_exception(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-9999',
    affected_host='LEGACY-SERVER',
    reason='System scheduled for decommission in 90 days',
    compensating_controls='Network isolated, enhanced monitoring',
    requested_by='john.smith',
    expiration_date='2024-04-15'
)

# Approve exception
exceptions.approve_exception(
    cve_id='CVE-2024-9999',
    approved_by='security.manager',
    notes='Approved with condition of weekly review'
)

# Check for expired exceptions
expired = exceptions.get_expired()

# Generate exception report
print(exceptions.generate_report())

Vulnerability Metrics

Track vulnerability management KPIs.

Example:

from vuln_utils import VulnMetrics

metrics = VulnMetrics()

# Add historical data
metrics.add_scan_result({
    'date': '2024-01-15',
    'critical': 5,
    'high': 20,
    'medium': 50,
    'low': 100
})

metrics.add_remediation_record({
    'cve_id': 'CVE-2024-1234',
    'severity': 'Critical',
    'detected_at': '2024-01-10',
    'remediated_at': '2024-01-15'
})

# Calculate metrics
print(f"MTTR (Critical): {metrics.calculate_mttr('Critical'):.1f} days")
print(f"SLA Compliance: {metrics.calculate_sla_compliance():.1f}%")
print(f"Remediation Rate: {metrics.calculate_remediation_rate():.1f}%")

# Get trending data
trend = metrics.get_vulnerability_trend(days=90)

# Generate metrics report
print(metrics.generate_report())

Asset-Based Views

View vulnerabilities by asset.

Example:

from vuln_utils import AssetVulnerabilityView

view = AssetVulnerabilityView()

# Add asset vulnerability data
view.add_asset_vulnerability('SERVER-01', 'CVE-2024-1234', 'Critical')
view.add_asset_vulnerability('SERVER-01', 'CVE-2024-5678', 'High')
view.add_asset_vulnerability('SERVER-02', 'CVE-2024-9999', 'Medium')

# Set asset metadata
view.set_asset_criticality('SERVER-01', 'high')
view.set_asset_criticality('SERVER-02', 'medium')

# Get asset risk summary
summary = view.get_asset_summary('SERVER-01')

# Get highest risk assets
risky_assets = view.get_highest_risk_assets(limit=10)

# Generate asset report
print(view.generate_asset_report('SERVER-01'))

Configuration

Environment Variables

Default SLAs

Limitations

• No Scanner Integration: Manual import required
• No Auto-Discovery: Assets must be defined manually
• Local Storage: Data stored in memory only

Troubleshooting

Invalid CVSS Score

CVSS scores must be between 0.0 and 10.0:

# Valid
scanner.add_finding('CVE-2024-1234', 'Critical', 'SERVER-01', cvss_score=9.8)

# Invalid
scanner.add_finding('CVE-2024-1234', 'Critical', 'SERVER-01', cvss_score=15.0)  # Error!

SLA Calculation Issues

Ensure dates are in correct format:

# Correct format
tracker.assign('CVE-2024-1234', 'team', due_date='2024-02-01')

# Incorrect format
tracker.assign('CVE-2024-1234', 'team', due_date='02/01/2024')  # May fail

Related Skills

• grc: Compliance integration
• xlsx: Data analysis and reporting
• docx: Report generation

References

• Detailed API Reference
• CVSS v3.1 Specification
• NIST NVD