Vulnerability management | Microsoft 365 Defender

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Overview

Introduction to Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

• Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management provides intelligent assessments, risk-based prioritization, and built-in tools for mitigation and remediation of vulnerabilities.

• The platform enables users to discover, assess, and remediate vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in a centralized location.

Understanding the Exposure Score

• The Exposure score reflects the overall vulnerability of assets to cyber threats; a lower score indicates less exposure.

• This score is derived from various criteria including weaknesses, breach likelihood, device value, and relevant alerts associated with devices.

• Users can track changes in their Exposure score over the past 30 days and follow top security recommendations to improve it.

Security Recommendations

• Recommendations are filtered by software updates or uninstalls and sorted by impact; active alerts related to these recommendations are also displayed.

• Selecting a recommendation provides details on impacted devices and vulnerabilities addressed by following that recommendation.

Microsoft Secure Score for Devices

• The Microsoft Secure Score offers an overview of security posture based on best practices categorized for easy navigation.

• Users can view configuration change recommendations sorted by impact; selecting one reveals information about risk levels and exposed devices.

Remediation Options

• Users can request remediation through integration with Microsoft Endpoint Manager or ServiceNow, facilitating collaboration between SecOps and IT teams.

• If remediation isn't feasible, users have options to scope exceptions with justifications and set durations within the platform.

Exposure Distribution & Top Vulnerable Software

• The "Exposure distribution" feature categorizes exposed devices into low, medium, or high-risk groups for quick assessment.

• A list of top vulnerable software highlights common applications with weaknesses; users can access detailed inventories showing weaknesses per software.

Additional Capabilities of Defender Vulnerability Management