Vulnerability management is generally defined as the process of identifying, categorizing, prioritizing, and resolving vulnerabilities in operating systems, enterprise applications whether in the cloud or on-premises, browsers, and end-user applications. An ongoing process, vulnerability management seeks to continually identify vulnerabilities that can be remediated through patching and configuration of security settings.

Bad actors look to take advantage of discovered vulnerabilities in an attempt to infect a workstation or server. Managing threats is a reactive process where the threat must be actively present. Whereas vulnerability management is proactive, seeking to close the security gaps that exist before they are taken advantage of.