Vulnerability Assessment | Grey Team Foundation – Cybersecurity Assessments
C.V.I.P²-A Framework | Module V

Vulnerability Assessment

We go beyond automated scans by manually validating every risk to ensure you receive a clear action plan rather than a generic score. Our experts translate technical data into real-world business impact, prioritizing the fixes that actually matter.

What Is a Vulnerability Assessment?

A Vulnerability Assessment is a thorough, systematic scan and analysis of your systems, including servers, workstations, network devices, web applications, and APIs, to identify known security weaknesses and misconfigurations. The goal is to find the flaws before an attacker does and give your team a prioritized roadmap to fix them.

This is not a generic automated report dropped on your desk. Our team manually validates every finding to confirm whether it represents a real risk or a false positive. We then translate the technical data into language your leadership team can understand, explaining not just what's broken, but why it matters to your business and what to fix first.

20%
Of all data breaches now begin with vulnerability exploitation. That number is growing every year. Attackers aren't always using sophisticated techniques. In many cases, they're simply scanning for known, unpatched weaknesses and walking right in.
57%
Of breach victims had a patch available but not applied at the time of the attack. The fix existed. The team just didn't know about it, didn't prioritize it, or didn't have the visibility to act. That's exactly what a proper vulnerability assessment prevents.

"A vulnerability scanner tells you what might be wrong. A vulnerability assessment tells you what is wrong, what it means for your business, and exactly what to do about it."

What We Assess

The Vulnerability Assessment covers multiple layers of your technology environment. Depending on your needs, we can scope the engagement to focus on external-facing systems, internal infrastructure, web applications, APIs, or any combination. Each assessment type addresses different risk areas.

  • External Network Scan. We scan your internet-facing IP addresses and services from the perspective of an outside attacker. This identifies exposed ports, outdated software, weak encryption, and misconfigured services that are visible from the public internet.
  • Internal Network Scan. A credentialed scan from inside your network that provides a much deeper and more accurate view of vulnerabilities. This catches missing patches, insecure local configurations, weak passwords, and services that aren't visible externally but could be exploited by an insider or compromised device.
  • Web Application Scan. We test your web-facing applications for common vulnerabilities aligned with the OWASP Top 10, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), broken authentication, and insecure data exposure. If your customers interact with your business through a browser, this applies to you.
  • API Assessment. If your systems communicate through APIs, whether internal integrations or customer-facing endpoints, we assess them for authentication flaws, improper data exposure, rate limiting issues, and injection vulnerabilities.
  • Mobile Application Scan. For organizations with iOS or Android applications, we evaluate each platform for insecure data storage, weak transport security, improper session handling, and backend communication vulnerabilities. Pricing is per platform.

How the Assessment Works

Every vulnerability assessment follows a structured process designed to maximize coverage while minimizing disruption to your operations. We coordinate scan timing with your team, use industry-standard scanning platforms, and manually validate results before anything goes into your report.

01

Scoping and Coordination

We work with your team to define the assessment scope: which IP ranges, applications, and environments are in play. We identify scan windows that minimize business impact and determine whether authenticated (credentialed) or unauthenticated scanning is appropriate for each target.

02

Automated Scanning

Using industry-standard scanning platforms, we run comprehensive scans across your defined scope. External scans simulate an outside attacker's perspective. Internal credentialed scans log into target systems for a much deeper and more accurate view of missing patches, insecure configurations, and hidden weaknesses.

03

Manual Validation

This is where we separate ourselves from a generic scan-and-dump report. Our team manually reviews each finding to confirm whether it represents a real, exploitable issue or a false positive. We verify versions, test configurations, and cross-reference results to ensure accuracy. You only see validated, real findings in your report.

04

Risk Scoring and Prioritization

Each confirmed vulnerability is scored using the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) framework and categorized by severity: Critical, High, Medium, Low, or Informational. We go beyond the raw score to explain the business context. A "High" finding on a public-facing payment system is very different from a "High" on an isolated test server.

05

Reporting and Remediation Roadmap

You receive two deliverables: an executive summary written for leadership that explains the overall risk posture and key priorities, and a detailed technical report with specific findings, evidence, CVSS scores, and step-by-step remediation guidance your IT team can act on immediately. Remediation timelines follow industry standards: Critical findings within 7 days, High within 30, Medium within 90, and Low within 180.

Why This Matters for Your Business

The Vulnerability Assessment is the second module in the C.V.I.P²-A framework because it builds directly on what the Cyber Threat Surface Overview uncovers. Once you know what systems are exposed, the next question is: which of those systems have actual weaknesses an attacker could exploit? That's what this module answers.

It's also a prerequisite for penetration testing. For Medium and Large organizations, Grey Team requires a Vulnerability Assessment before any penetration test engagement. This ensures that foundational issues are identified and addressed first, so the penetration test can focus on advanced attack paths rather than basic, known vulnerabilities that a scan would have caught.

For organizations in regulated industries, vulnerability scanning isn't optional. HIPAA, PCI DSS v4.0, GLBA, NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500, and NIST frameworks all require regular vulnerability assessments as part of a documented cybersecurity program. This module gives you that evidence.

Who Should Get This Assessment

Any organization that operates networked systems, and that's every business today. This assessment is especially critical for organizations where a security incident could result in regulatory fines, data breach notifications, or loss of customer trust:

  • Healthcare organizations. HIPAA's Security Rule mandates regular technical evaluations. If you operate EHR systems, patient portals, or connected medical devices, unpatched vulnerabilities are a direct compliance risk.
  • Restaurants, retail, and hospitality. PCI DSS v4.0 requires quarterly vulnerability scans for any business processing credit card transactions. Your POS systems, online ordering platforms, and Wi-Fi networks all fall within scope.
  • Banks, credit unions, and financial services. GLBA and NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500 require documented vulnerability management programs. Regulators expect to see evidence of regular assessments and remediation tracking.
  • Law firms and professional services. Client data confidentiality obligations make unpatched systems a liability. A single exploited vulnerability in a document management system or email server can expose years of privileged communications.
  • Manufacturing and supply chain. Operational technology environments and vendor integrations introduce vulnerabilities that traditional IT teams may not be monitoring. A compromised system on the factory floor can halt production entirely.

Find Your Weaknesses First

Complete the form and a Grey Team Foundation security advisor will discuss scoping a vulnerability assessment for your environment.

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