ISO 27002:2022, Control 8.8 – Management of Technical Vulnerabilities

Ownership of Control 8.8

Control 8.8 deals with the technical and administrative management of software, systems and ICT assets. Some of the guidelines involve deploying a highly-detailed approach to software management, asset management and network security auditing.

As such, ownership of Control 8.8 should reside with the individual who holds overall responsibility for maintaining the organisation’s ICT infrastructure, such as the Head of IT, or organisational equivalent.

Guidance – Identifying Vulnerabilities

Prior to implementing and vulnerability controls, it’s essential to obtain a complete and up-to-date list of physical and digital assets (see Controls 5.9 and 5.14) that are owned and operated by the organisation.

Software asset information should include:

• Vendor name
• Application name
• Version numbers currently in operation
• Where the software is deployed across the estate

When attempting to pinpoint technical vulnerabilities, organisations should:

1. Clearly outline who (within the organisation) is responsible for vulnerability management from a technical perspective, in accordance with its various functions, including (but not limited to):
• Asset management
• Risk assessment
• Monitoring
• Updating
2. Who is responsible for the software within the organisation
3. Maintain an inventory of applications and resources that will be used to identify technical vulnerabilities.
   

4. Ask suppliers and vendors to disclose vulnerabilities upon the supply of new systems and hardware (see Control 5.20), and specify as such in all relevant contracts and service agreements.
5. Make use of vulnerability scanning tools, including patching facilities.
6. Carry out regular, documented penetration tests – either internally or via a certified third-party.
7. Be mindful of the use of third-party code libraries and/or source code for underlying programmatic vulnerabilities (see Control 8.28).

Guidance – Public Activities

In addition to internal systems, organisations should develop policies and procedures that detect vulnerabilities across all its products and services, and receive vulnerability assessments relating to the supply of said products and services.

ISO advises organisations to make a public effort to track down any vulnerabilities, and encourage third-parties to engage in vulnerability management efforts through the use of bounty programs (where exploits are looked for and reported to the organisation for a reward).

Organisations should make themselves available to the general public through forums, public email addresses and research activity so that the collective knowledge of the wider public can be used to safeguard products and services at source.

Where remedial action has been taken that affects users or customers, organisations should consider releasing relevant information to the affected individuals or organisations, and engage with specialist security organisations to disseminate information about vulnerabilities and attack vectors.

In addition, organisations should consider offering an automatic update procedure that customers are able to opt in or out of, based on their business needs.

Guidance – Evaluating Vulnerabilities

Adequate reporting is key to ensuring swift and effective remedial action when vulnerabilities are discovered.

When evaluating vulnerabilities, organisations should:

1. Carefully analyse any reports and decide what action needs to be taken, including (but not limited to) the amendment, updating or removal of affected systems and/or hardware.
2. Agree upon a resolution that takes into account other ISO controls (particularly those related to ISO 27002:2022) and acknowledges the level of risks involved.

Guidance – Counteracting Software Vulnerabilities

Software vulnerabilities are best combated with a proactive approach to software updates and patch management.

Prior to any amendments being implemented, organisations should ensure that incumbent software versions are retained, all changes are fully tested and applied to a designated copy of the software.

When directly addressing vulnerabilities after they have been identified, organisations should:

1. Seek to resolve all vulnerabilities in a timely and efficient manner.
2. Where possible, follow the organisational procedures on change management (see Control 8.32) and incident response (see Control 5.26).
3. Only apply updates and patches that emanate from trusted and/or certified sources, particularly in the vase of third-party vendor software and equipment.
• Where vendor software is concerned, organisations should make a judgement call based on the information available as to whether it is necessary to apply automatic updates (or parts thereof) to acquired software and hardware.
4. Test any updates that are required prior to installation, to avoid any unforeseen incidents in an operational environment.
5. Seek to address high risk and business-critical systems as a priority.
6. Ensure that any remedial actions are effective and authentic.

In the event of an update not being available, or any issues that prevent an update being installed (such as cost issues), organisations should consider other measures, such as:

1. Asking the vendor for advice on a workaround or “sticking plaster” solution whilst remedial efforts are ramped up.
2. Disabling or stopping any network services that are affected by the vulnerability.
3. Implementing network security controls at critical gateway points, including traffic rules and filters.
4. Increasing the overall level of monitoring in line with the associated risk.
5. Ensure that all affected parties are aware of the vulnerability, including suppliers and customers.
6. Delaying the update to better evaluate the associated risks, especially where operational cost may be an issue.

Supporting Controls

• 5.14
• 5.20
• 5.9
• 8.20
• 8.22
• 8.28

Supplementary Guidance on Control 8.8

• Organisations should keep an audit log of all relevant vulnerability management activities, in order to aid remedial efforts and improve procedures in the event of a security incident.
• The entire vulnerability management process should be periodically reviewed and evaluated, in order to improve performance and identify more vulnerabilities at source.
• If the organisation used software hosted by a cloud service provider, the organisation should ensure that the service provider’s stance towards vulnerability management is aligned with its own, and should form a key part of any binding service agreement between the two parties, including any reporting procedures (see Control 5.32).

Changes and Differences from ISO 27002:2013

ISO 27002:2022-8.8 replaces two controls from ISO 27002:2013:

• 12.6.1 – Management of technical vulnerabilities
• 18.2.3 – Technical compliance review

27002:2022-8.8 represents a fundamentally different approach to vulnerability management than is contained within 27002:2013.

27002:2013-12.6.1 is largely concerned with the implementation of remedial action once a vulnerability has been identified, whereas 18.2.3 is limited to technical tools (mostly penetration testing).

27002:2022-8.8 contains entirely new sections on topics such as an organisation’s public activities, how vulnerabilities are identified in the first place and the role that cloud providers play in ensuring vulnerabilities are kept to a minimum.

Overall, ISO places a larger emphasis on the role that vulnerability management plays in other areas of 27002:2022 (notably change management), and advocates for a holistic approach that draws in numerous other controls and information security procedures.

How ISMS.online Helps

Our platform is intuitive and easy-to-use. It’s not just for highly technical people; it’s for everyone in your organisation. We encourage you to involve staff at all levels of your business in the process of building your ISMS, because that helps you to build a truly sustainable system.

Get in touch today to book a demo.