Vulnerability patch remediation is a critical cybersecurity process that involves identifying, fixing, and redeploying patched code across all affected endpoints to protect against cyberattacks, with integration into CI/CD pipelines and automation being essential for timely and effective remediation.
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Vulnerability Patch Management, Explored.
What is Vulnerability Patch Remediation?
When people hear the term “vulnerability remediation,” they often think of identifying and fixing flawed code. But what does “finding and fixing” really entail? Most tend to focus on the fixing aspect—once a vulnerability is detected, the code is updated, or the build is adjusted to include a patched version of the package. However, the process doesn’t stop there. The fix must also be redeployed, a step that comes with its own challenges. This shifts the focus from simply “finding and fixing” to a more complete process: “finding and deploying.”
Modern software systems are inherently complex, especially with decoupled architectures. A single vulnerability in an open-source package can spread across thousands of containers. Remediating it requires not only identifying where the vulnerability exists but also systematically redeploying the fix across all affected endpoints. This step is the cornerstone of vulnerability patch remediation—and often the most labor-intensive and challenging part of the process.
Why is Vulnerability Patch Remediation Important?
Unpatched vulnerabilities are one of the leading causes of cyberattacks, including data breaches, ransomware, and system compromises. Cybercriminals actively exploit known vulnerabilities, making timely patching critical for minimizing the attack surface, minimizing operational downtime, and safeguarding sensitive data caused by data breaches.
How Vulnerability Patch Remediation Works with CI/CD
Effective vulnerability patch remediation requires automation to ensure timely and secure detection and deployment of patches. Integrating vulnerability patch remediation into the CI/CD pipeline is crucial. The rise in the number of vulnerabilities over the last 4 years has made it impossible to manually keep up. According to a 2023 Edgescan report, the Meant Time To Remediation (MTTR) averages 75 days.
Critical to speeding up the vulnerability patch process is building a package inventory across all of your software assets, and mapping the packages to their deployed endpoints. This mapping exposes the ‘blast radius’ of the package. When a critical CVE is discovered in the package, the blast radius becomes the attack surface.
Steps to add vulnerability patch management to the CI/CD pipeline:
- Integrate an evidence store for gathering where package dependencies are deployed across all software assets. Add Software Bill of Material (SBOM) generation to the build/deploy steps, storing the package dependency versions with deployed locations for each workflow (release version).
- For all workflows, continuously scan CVE databases against the package inventory, post-deployment. SAST tooling is useful at the build step. Continuous scanning will identify new vulnerabilities after the software has been deployed.
- When a new vulnerability is found, assess the risk based on the attack surface and severity level.
- Update the code and test the vulnerability across all impacted software assets. Generate a new Software Bill of Material for the new release (This should be automated in the CI/CD pipeline).
- Deploy the patch across the attack surface
- Rinse and repeat – continue to scan for new CVEs based on the new release.
Continuous Vulnerability Management in Your AppSec Strategy
Over the last few years, the market has begun to offer several options to improve application security. While these options address the supply chain security challenges, they approach the problem differently. The difference often depends on the particular problem they are solving. For example, some AppSec tools mainly focus on Static Code Analysis.
Others are focused on Application Security Posture Management (ASPM). Others track supply chain intelligence on components to support DevOps teams across the lifecycle. Below is a list of overall features of Continuous Vulnerability Management that can enhance your AppSec strategy.
Conclusion
Integrating vulnerability patch remediation into the CI/CD pipeline is essential for keeping pace with the growing number of software vulnerabilities. With the average Mean Time to Remediation (MTTR) at 75 days, manual processes are no longer sufficient.
To accelerate remediation, organizations should build a package inventory, map dependencies to deployed endpoints, and continuously scan for vulnerabilities post-deployment. Implementing an evidence store is critical for tracking where package dependencies are deployed across all software assets, ensuring accurate remediation efforts.
Automating SBOM generation, CVE scanning, risk assessment, and patch deployment within CI/CD workflows ensures faster response times and reduces security risks. By embedding these steps into the software development lifecycle, teams can minimize attack surfaces, improve security posture, and maintain continuous vulnerability management.
DeployHub for Continuous Vulnerability Management
DeployHub streamlines vulnerability patch remediation by automating the tracking and deployment of software components across all environments. Its evidence store maintains a detailed inventory of package dependencies and their deployed locations, enabling teams to quickly assess the attack surface of a newly discovered CVE. By integrating SBOM generation into the CI/CD pipeline, DeployHub ensures that every release includes an up-to-date record of dependencies, allowing for continuous vulnerability scanning and real-time risk assessment.
When a vulnerability is detected, DeployHub quickly exposes the full attack surface allowing teams to easily neutralize the threat. DeployHub reduces Mean Time to Remediation (MTTR), enhances security posture, and ensures that software remains resilient and compliant in fast-paced development environments.
About DeployHub
DeployHub’s mission is to empower organizations to respond to supply chain attacks within hours not months.
Learn more about DeployHub and DeployHub Pro and start rapidly responding to vulnerabilities by quickly identifying where the threat is running and who is using it.
The members of the DeployHub Team are recognized experts in DevOps and Software Supply Chain Security and have applied that knowledge to DeployHub’s CSI.
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About the Author
Tracy Ragan is CEO of DeployHub and has served on the Continuous Delivery Foundation and OpenSSF Governing Boards.
Tracy is a supply chain security evangelist with expertise in software configuration management, builds and release. Tracy was a consultant to Wall Street firms on build and release management for 7 years prior to co-founding OpenMake Software in 1995. She was a founding member of the Eclipse organization and served on the board for 5 years. She is a recognized leader and has been published in multiple industry publications as well as presenting to audiences at industry conferences. Tracy co-founded DeployHub in 2019 to solve security complexities in modern architecture.