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Vulnerability detection data

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Vulnerability detection data refers to the information collected, analyzed, and reported during the process of identifying security vulnerabilities within systems, applications, networks, or devices. This data provides details about potential weaknesses, misconfigurations, or flaws that could be exploited by attackers to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of systems and data. Detection data feeds into threat intelligence platforms to identify patterns or trends in vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability detection data is typically generated by vulnerability scanners, security tools, or manual assessments. It includes information such as the type of vulnerability, its severity, affected components, remediation suggestions, and associated metadata like timestamps or system details. It also provides actionable recommendations for patching, reconfiguring, or mitigating risks.

Vulnerability scanning is a subset of vulnerability detection and is often the first step. Scanning relies on automated tools to find known vulnerabilities efficiently, while detection encompasses broader techniques, including manual testing, to uncover complex or unknown flaws. Regular scans identify known vulnerabilities as part of ongoing security operations, and many compliance standards (for example, PCI DSS and ISO 27001) require periodic automated scans.

Many compliance standards (for example, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001) require vulnerability scans and reports as part of their requirements.

Vulnerability detection data typically includes:

  • Software vulnerabilities: Related to flaws in software or applications
  • Network vulnerabilities: Related to misconfigurations or weaknesses in a network
  • Configuration vulnerabilities: Related to insecure settings or misconfigurations
  • Web application vulnerabilities: Specific to web applications
  • Credential and access vulnerabilities: Related to authentication and access control
  • Cloud vulnerabilities: Related to cloud environments
  • System and endpoint vulnerabilities: Related to operating systems, endpoint devices, or servers
  • Third-party dependency vulnerabilities: Related to libraries, frameworks, or third-party dependencies

The Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) add-on contains a Vulnerabilities data model with fields that describe vulnerability detection data.

Before looking at documentation for specific data sources, review the Splunk Docs information on general data ingestion: 

Use cases for Splunk security products