Key Points
- Patch management keeps operating systems and applications current by finding, testing, and deploying updates to endpoints.
- Vulnerability management identifies, prioritizes, and remediates security weaknesses, including ones that patching alone cannot fix.
- The two processes share categorization, monitoring, and verification steps but differ in scope: patching policies belong to patch management, and vulnerability analysis belongs to vulnerability management.
- IT teams and MSPs use both together so that known vulnerabilities are found quickly and remediated safely.
Patch management and vulnerability management are not the same process, even though the terms are often used interchangeably. Patch management is the process of finding, testing, and deploying updates to operating systems and applications; meanwhile, vulnerability management is the broader process of identifying, prioritizing, and remediating security weaknesses. This guide compares patch management vs. vulnerability management and explains why both are essential for a secure IT environment.
Patch management vs. vulnerability management at a glance
Here’s a quick summary of key differences between patch management and vulnerability management:
| Patch management | Vulnerability management | |
| Primary goal | Keep operating systems and applications current and stable | Find and reduce security weaknesses |
| Scope | Software updates and upgrades | Software flaws, misconfigurations, and other exposures |
| Trigger | A vendor releases a patch | A weakness is discovered (CVE, misconfiguration, or scan finding) |
| Remediation options | Deploy a patch or upgrade | Patch, configuration change, or other compensating control |
| Unique step | Patching policies | Vulnerability analysis and prioritization |
| Shared steps | Categorization, monitoring, verification | Categorization, monitoring, verification |
| Typical owner | IT operations | Security team, often with IT operations |
The differences between the two will be discussed more extensively in the following sections.
What is patch management?
Patch management is the process of finding, testing, and rolling out OS or application patches to endpoints. These patches ensure that devices use the most recent versions of operating systems and applications; essentially, they keep endpoints secure, up-to-date, and functioning properly.
Why is patch management important?
The two main purposes behind patch management are to secure devices and keep them up-to-date. When patching is neglected, endpoints are left defenseless and at risk for modern cyber threats and attacks. Just take a look at some of the top consequences of unpatched software to see how important patch management is for every IT environment.
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What is vulnerability management?
Vulnerability management is the process of identifying, organizing, reporting, and remediating vulnerabilities. The main purpose of vulnerability management is to support cybersecurity efforts by minimizing possible threats and preventing attacks.
Why is vulnerability management important?
The main purpose of vulnerability management is to reduce security risk across endpoints, servers, and other systems. It’s an essential component of any mature cybersecurity program. Using vulnerability management tools and processes, organizations are able to find, categorize, and resolve vulnerabilities that otherwise would have remained undetected on devices.
If vulnerabilities are left undetected and unresolved, they create openings that cybercriminals can exploit for their attacks. These openings can lead to data theft, data loss, ransomware threats, and other dangerous cyberattacks that can significantly damage a business and its reputation.
Patch management vs. vulnerability management lifecycles
The easiest way to compare patch management and vulnerability management is to show their lifecycles, or their core functions and processes, and then note the differences and similarities.
Although vulnerability management lifecycles and patch management lifecycles can be discussed in depth, we’ll only go over the basic steps in each one.
Core functions of the vulnerability management lifecycle
- Find and identify vulnerabilities
- Analyze vulnerabilities
- Categorize vulnerabilities
- Monitor vulnerabilities
- Remediate vulnerabilities
- Verify that the vulnerability has been remediated
Core functions of the patch management lifecycle
- Build an IT inventory
- Prioritize patches
- Create patching policies
- Monitor & test patching systems
- Deploy patches
- Verify patch deployment
- Create patch reports & documentation
Key differences between patch management and vulnerability management lifecycles
Three lifecycle steps that are unique to either patch management or vulnerability management are:
1) Patching policies
Unlike vulnerability management, patch management revolves around creating patching policies. These policies determine which devices will be patched, when they will be patched, how often they will be patched, and other similar details. It’s a step that’s completely unique to patch management and does not exist within a vulnerability management lifecycle.
2) Analyzing vulnerabilities
After finding vulnerabilities, it’s up to a security team to analyze them and find solutions. Patch management uses the results of that analysis to decide which patches to deploy first, but the analysis itself belongs to vulnerability management.
3) Deploying solutions
Not every vulnerability is fixed by a patch. Depending on the weakness, remediation might mean a configuration change, a compensating control, or removing the affected software. A vulnerability management program chooses among these options, while patch management deals only with updates and upgrades.
Key similarities between vulnerability and patch management lifecycles
Three lifecycle steps that both patch management and vulnerability management have in common are:
1) Categorization
Both vulnerability and patch management require categorization in order to run properly. For vulnerability management, categorization is used to assess and organize remediations based on their severity. This helps IT teams determine which vulnerabilities need to be addressed first. For patch management, categorization is used to sort and organize patches so that IT teams can determine which ones need to be deployed immediately.
2) Monitoring
Almost every IT process requires some form of monitoring. For patch management, the purpose of monitoring is not only to manage the patching process but also to be on the lookout for new patches or vulnerabilities from vendors. Monitoring holds a different meaning for vulnerability management, and it involves continuously monitoring systems to detect vulnerabilities as soon as they appear.
3) Verification
After an IT team remediates a vulnerability, they cannot rest easy until the remediation of the weakness is verified. During the patching process, admins cannot be sure that a patch is deployed properly until they receive confirmation.
How vulnerability and patch management work together
Patch management and vulnerability management work together to support a secure, efficient IT environment. With an effective patch management system, IT teams keep devices current with the latest updates that improve endpoint security and functionality. Using vulnerability management, IT teams can proactively find and remediate vulnerabilities before they turn into serious threats. Running both together gives IT teams a faster path from finding a weakness to closing it.
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Why you should use patch management and vulnerability management together
MSPs and IT departments use patch management and vulnerability management together to protect endpoints from cyberthreats and attacks. If IT teams only implement one of these processes, it creates a weakness that cybercriminals can exploit.
For instance, if a team focuses solely on patch management and neglects vulnerability management, they will be less likely to identify and quickly remediate vulnerabilities when they appear. The same situation could occur with patch management as well. If an IT team turns all its attention towards vulnerability management, all the leftover unpatched software creates serious consequences that have to be dealt with.
Secure IT infrastructure with combined vulnerability and patch management
Ultimately, using vulnerability management and patch management together is your best bet for securing your IT infrastructure.
If your current patch management system is slow, inefficient, or difficult to use, it’s time to switch to NinjaOne. NinjaOne’s patch management automates your patching processes and takes the work off your hands. Learn more about Ninja Patching and how it will support your IT team with this free trial.
