How to Prioritize Third-Party Patches Based on Vendor Risk Scores

Proper third-party patch management prioritizes app updates by vendor risk score, which estimates the provider’s potential impact on client security, compliance, operations, and more. Fast-tracking these high-risk app updates reduces your company’s exposure and focuses your resources.

This article explores actionable steps for patch management and risk assessment that comply with international cyber insurance standards (e.g., NIST CSF, ISO/IEC 27001).

Manage your vulnerability and patch management policy

Follow these steps to assess third-party services based on vendor risk score and rank them by urgency.

📌 Prerequisites:

• Windows 10 or 11 (any edition)
• Administrator permissions
• Asset inventory with installed third-party applications
• Access to vulnerability feeds or vendor score databases (e.g., CVSS, CISA KEV, VulnDB)
• RMM tool or patch management platform (e.g., NinjaOne)
• Defined risk scoring tiers (e.g., Critical, High, Medium, Low)

📌 Recommended deployment strategies:

Step 1: Define a vendor risk tiering model

Start with a list of enterprise-specific criteria to tailor vulnerability and patch management to your needs.

📌 Use Cases: Outlining and prioritizing software threats.

Follow this basic layout to highlight vendor responsiveness. For added clarity, expand your model even further with Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) and CISA alerts.

Step 2: Take inventory of installed software via PowerShell

Generate a list of installed apps with specialized scripts or basic commands, then organize them based on your tiered model.

📌 Use Cases: Programmatically list all installed software, with added columns for app name, version, publisher, and installation date.

1. Press Win + R, type PowerShell, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
2. Run this command:

Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* |

Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate

Step 3: Match installed apps to vulnerability and risk score sources

Enrich your software inventory with the latest vulnerability intelligence for data-driven comparisons.

📌 Use Cases: Match high-risk software to its appropriate vendor risk score tier.

NVD CVSS Scores

Established in 1999, the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) is one of the most extensive records of known digital vulnerabilities. The database contains the official CVSS score matrix, severity tiers, and impacted software.

CISA KEV Catalog

The Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (KEV) tracks the most common exploits over a given time period—from recent days to several years—and lists CVEs with supplementary insights.

IT professionals can also automate tracking by leveraging the catalog’s CSV/JSON format.

Microsoft Security Update Guide

Microsoft’s update center provides product-specific reports on exploits, lists their impact, and notifies you about upcoming patches. API access and PowerShell modules are also supported for hands-free workflows.

Third-party scanners for third-party patch management

Consider adding these vulnerability monitoring platforms to your department’s toolbelt:

• Qualys
• Tenable
• VulnDB

⚠️ Important: Only download applications from trusted, legitimate sources.

💡 Note: These apps typically integrate with SIEMs and RMMs (e.g., NinjaOne) for added oversight.

Step 4: Tag devices by patch risk priority using the registry or RMM

Centrally deploy registry-targeted scripts that label your endpoints.

📌 Use Cases: Manually apply patch priority tiers to all endpoints.

📌 Prerequisites: NinjaOne; Endpoints are online and openly available.

1. Press Win + R, type PowerShell, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
2. Run this command:

New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Org\PatchPriority" -Force

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Org\PatchPriority" -Name "PatchTier" -Value "<VendorRiskTierLabel>"

Replace <VendorRiskTierLabel> with that endpoint’s risk tier (e.g., Tier1)

3. Close Registry Editor.
4. Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
5. To check if the label was applied properly, run the following:

reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Org\PatchPriority

6. Use NinjaOne to scan for PatchPriority registry values and easily group endpoints for efficient third-party patch management.

Step 5: Schedule patch windows based on priority tier

Plan timely updates to address critical vulnerabilities ASAP while minimizing disruptions. Here’s a preventative patch window guide that aligns with Microsoft’s release cycles.

Step 6: Block or delay patching of low-risk software via GPO

Avoid bandwidth issues by postponing low-risk app updates.

📌 Use Cases: Focus resources on high-priority system updates.

📌 Prerequisites: Windows 10/11 Enterprise, or Education, with AppLocker and Application Identity service.

1. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
2. Navigate to:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update

3. Manage the following policies to control when updates are installed:

• • Configure Automatic Updates
  • Specify deadlines for automatic updates and restarts
  • Remove access to use all Windows Update features

4. Navigate to:

Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Application Control Policies > AppLocker

5. Create rules to block unpatched apps, prevent low-priority .msi file installations, and only allow specific app versions to run.

⚠️ Things to look out for

Important considerations

Here are some valuable insights to streamline third-party patch management and avoid common pitfalls.

BYOD or remote devices

Non-native updates are doubly important for Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) endpoints, which operate outside of your organization’s firewall. Keep a close eye on these devices, as any unpatched vulnerabilities can increase your attack surface.

Patch verification

Confirm that your patches are safe and effective. Remote or offline systems typically disregard these steps, but testing hotfixes on a small sample size, prepping rollback strategies, and post-patch monitoring are essential for effective third-party patch management.

Vendor monitoring

Stay informed of all service vulnerability advisories so that patch schedules and tier rankings can be adjusted accordingly. A missed update could lead to gaps in security and compliance, so keep your channels open.

QBR alignment for third-party patch management

Tailor external software reports with quarterly business goals to accommodate stakeholders or department heads. You can do this by highlighting metrics like:

• Risk reduction rates
• SLA compliance
• Incident trends pre- and post-patch
• Mean Time to Detect (MTTD)

Troubleshooting third-party patch management

Follow these key steps to resolve common issues surrounding vulnerability and patch management.

Patches not applying

If your rollouts aren’t taking effect, you might be experiencing the following:

• Version mismatches: Verify OS compatibility and standardize your device versions with RMM tools (e.g., NinjaOne).
• Network issues: Fix any connectivity issues and confirm your firewall isn’t blocking patch URLs.
• Conflicting software: Disable conflicting apps like AVs, audit event logs, or temporarily uninstall blockers.

Incorrect tier tag

Miscategorizing multiple devices compromises patch rankings and threatens business-critical infrastructure. If your endpoints are tagged incorrectly, you’ll need to manually correct their registry tags or streamline the process with endpoint managers.

Delayed patch syncs

If your fleet isn’t syncing properly, it’s likely due to bandwidth limits, disconnected devices, or disabled software clients. Automating sync schedules with cloud-native management platforms often prevents these cases.

Low-risk software misidentified

Confusing low-priority apps as high-risk (or vice versa) can divert system resources from where they’re needed, increasing exposure. When ranking your software by vendor risk scores, consider CVSS scores and exploit data first and foremost.

How NinjaOne simplifies third-party patch management

🥷🏽 NinjaOne simplifies patch management risk assessment by:

Prioritize risky apps for efficient third-party patch management

Prioritizing third-party apps based on vendor risk scores allows personnel and MSPs to focus client resources where they’re needed—optimizing patch schedules to keep your IT environment risk-free.

Related topics:

• NinjaOne Third-Party Patch Management: Elevate Your Endpoint Security
• OS Patching for Streamlined IT Operations
• Installing and Patching Common Business Applications with NinjaOne