Threat and Vulnerability Management in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide

Updated August 25, 2025

What is Threat and Vulnerability Management?

Vulnerability management is the perpetual loop of discovering, prioritizing, and fixing security weaknesses before attackers weaponize them. Accurate asset inventories and risk-based patching keep this treadmill both manageable and impactful.

Core Categories of Threat and Vulnerability Management Solutions

Threat Intelligence Platforms

Threat Intelligence Platforms collect, analyze, and share data on adversaries, campaigns, and vulnerabilities. They provide actionable insights that guide defenses and enrich detection capabilities.

ThreatBook

IBM Security

Asset Management

Asset Management discovers, inventories, and tracks all hardware and software in an environment. By knowing what exists, organizations can patch, protect, and prioritize defenses effectively.

Tenable.io

Qualys VM

Qualys Vulnerability Management

Continuous Threat and Exposure Management

Continuous Threat and Exposure Management extends vulnerability scanning with ongoing monitoring and prioritization. It helps organizations focus on the most urgent risks before attackers exploit them.

InsightVM

Rapid7 InsightVM

Darktrace

Attack Surface Management

Attack Surface Management continuously maps internet-facing assets, services, and exposures. It provides visibility into entry points attackers could exploit, allowing proactive risk reduction.

Tenable.io

Qualys VM

InsightVM

Breach Attack Simulation

Breach Attack Simulation safely emulates real-world attacks against an environment. It validates whether defenses and response processes are effective, helping organizations strengthen readiness.

Core Security

## Category Overview ### Introduction Threat and Vulnerability Management (TVM) ensures organizations know what assets they have, what vulnerabilities matter, and how quickly they must be fixed. In 2025, programs are driven by “exploitability first” prioritization, where known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs) and predictive scoring models like EPSS determine patching urgency. TVM now overlaps with attack surface management, ensuring organizations patch both the systems they know and the shadow assets they discover. ## Quarterly Trends & News | Theme | Update | |---|---| | **KEV-first patching** | Organizations prioritize remediation of vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild. | | **NVD enrichment delays** | Delays in U.S. vulnerability database processing force reliance on vendor advisories and private intelligence. | | **EPSS v4 released** | The Exploit Prediction Scoring System gets updated to improve exploitation likelihood modeling. | | **SBOM usage expands** | Software bills of materials (SBOMs) and VEX advisories help determine real exposure from vulnerabilities. | | **Edge-targeting exploits** | Recent high-profile breaches leveraged unpatched edge devices (VPNs, firewalls), underscoring the need for rapid remediation. | ## Common Terms & Definitions | Term | Definition | |---|---| | **KEV Catalog** | Authoritative list of known exploited vulnerabilities used to drive urgent patching. | | **EPSS** | Exploit Prediction Scoring System that assigns likelihood of exploitation to vulnerabilities. | | **ASM / CAASM** | External and internal attack surface management for discovering shadow assets. | | **SBOM / VEX** | Software bill of materials and vulnerability-exploitability exchange formats that clarify actual exposure. | | **Compensating Control** | Temporary safeguard that reduces risk until full remediation is possible. |

Key Considerations

Quick tips, recommendations, and trade-offs

Upside Downside

Proactive Fixes

Finds and patches weak points before attackers exploit them

Risk-Based Focus

Prioritizes vulnerabilities that attackers are actively using

Attack Surface View

Links exposed assets to scans from the outside

Overwhelming Volume

Thousands of new vulnerabilities hide the critical few

Patch Pain