---
title: "Vulnerability management and penetration testing"
description: "Continuous vulnerability scanning, risk based prioritization, remediation tracking and penetration testing of networks, applications and cloud."
url: https://www.expandware.com/services/managed-security/vulnerability-management-and-penetration-testing/
section: "Services"
topics: ["Managed Security", "OWASP Web Security Testing Guide", "OWASP ASVS", "PTES", "NIST SP 800-115"]
publisher: "Expandware Private Limited"
---

# Vulnerability management and penetration testing

Continuous vulnerability scanning, risk based prioritization, remediation tracking and penetration testing of networks, applications and cloud.

Find the weaknesses before someone else does.

Every estate has more vulnerabilities than any team can fix at once, so the work is deciding which ones matter. We scan continuously, rank findings by exploitability and by what each affected system means to the business, track remediation to closure and test the defenses the way an attacker would. Critical findings reach you the day we find them, not in a final report.

Where it usually starts:
- Scans produce thousands of findings, and the list never shrinks.
- A customer or regulator requires an annual penetration test.
- A new application is launching and has never been tested.
- Nobody knows which internet-facing systems the company actually has.

What is included:
- Asset discovery: Internal and internet-facing assets found and kept current, including the forgotten ones.
- Continuous scanning: Infrastructure, cloud and container scanning on a schedule.
- Risk based prioritization: Findings ranked by exploitability and business impact, not by score alone.
- Remediation tracking: Fixes assigned, tracked and verified, with exceptions recorded.
- Penetration testing: Network, web application, API, cloud and wireless testing by experienced testers.
- Retesting: Fixes verified, so a finding is closed only when it is gone.

Where it sits: Vulnerability scanning sits in the detect layer of the security architecture: it finds weaknesses before attackers do and feeds them to the teams that fix them, while penetration testing checks the defenses the way an attacker would.

Decisions to settle early:
- Annual test or continuous program. An annual test satisfies many contracts; a continuous program keeps exposure down between tests. Many clients need both.
- Black box or informed testing. Testing with no information shows what an outsider sees; testing with documentation and accounts finds more in the same time. The goal decides.
- Who fixes what. Findings stall when nobody owns them. Each system has a named owner before scanning starts.

How the work runs: Discover, What you run, and who can reach it. Prioritize, Exploitability and business impact. Remediate, Fixes tracked to verified closure. Test, Attacks simulated as an attacker would run them.

How it is bought:
- A fixed-fee assessment: We discover your internet-facing assets, review existing scan results and agree the scope of any test. You receive the exposure picture and a fixed price for the testing or the program.
- A fixed-price build: Penetration tests are priced per agreed scope; a vulnerability management program covers discovery, scanning, prioritization and remediation tracking at a fixed setup price.
- Running it afterwards: Scanning, prioritization and retesting can then run monthly, with tests repeated as your estate or your obligations require.

Worked example, thousands of findings and no order. Say a payments company's scanner reports thousands of vulnerabilities every month, the list never shrinks, and a major customer now requires a penetration test before it renews its contract.
- Discover: We map what the company runs and what can be reached from the internet, and find a forgotten test server that is still exposed.
- Prioritize: Findings are ranked by whether they are exploited in the wild and by what each system means to the business, which puts a short list at the top.
- Test: Testers attack the payment application, its APIs and the cloud account as an attacker would, and report a critical issue the day they find it.
- Verify: Fixes are tracked with the owning teams and retested, and the customer receives a retest letter for the closed findings.
At the end, the team works from a short list that matters instead of a long one that does not, the exposed server is gone, and the customer has the evidence it asked for. (An illustration, not a client account.)

What you have at the end:
- Asset inventory, including the internet-facing surface: Every system we found, internal and external, with the ones you did not know about marked.
- Prioritized vulnerability register: Findings ranked by exploitability and business impact, each with an owner and a target date.
- Penetration test report with reproduction steps: What the testers did, what they reached, and how to reproduce and fix each finding.
- Remediation tracking dashboard: Open, fixed and accepted findings over time, by team and by severity.
- Retest confirmation letter: A dated statement that the findings were retested and closed, for customers or auditors who ask.

Standards and platforms worked with: OWASP Web Security Testing Guide, OWASP ASVS, PTES, NIST SP 800-115, CVSS v4.0, EPSS, CISA KEV catalog, Tenable, Qualys, Burp Suite.

Where it goes wrong, and what we design out:
- Ranking by score alone. A long list sorted by severity hides the few findings attackers actually use. Prioritization weighs exploitation in the wild and what each system means to you.
- Reports that wait for the end. A critical finding held for a final report leaves you exposed. Serious issues are reported the day they are found.
- Closing findings on trust. A fix assumed is not a fix. Findings are closed only after retesting confirms them.

What it changes:
- A list that shrinks. Effort goes to the vulnerabilities attackers actually exploit, so risk falls even when the total count does not.
- Evidence for customers and auditors. Test reports and remediation records answer due diligence and audit requests.
- Fewer surprises at launch. Applications are tested before release rather than after the first incident.

How you will know it is working:
- The list of open findings shrinks rather than grows.
- Every exposed system is known and owned.
- Accepted risks carry a signature and a review date.
- Customers and auditors receive retest evidence on request.

Who you work with:
- Testing lead. Agrees scope and rules of engagement and reviews every finding before it is reported.
- Penetration testers. Attack networks, applications, APIs and cloud accounts the way an attacker would.
- Vulnerability analyst. Runs the scanning program, prioritizes findings and tracks remediation to retest.

What we need from you:
- Written authorization from someone entitled to give it.
- The scope: addresses, applications and cloud accounts.
- Test accounts where authenticated testing is in scope.
- Owners for the systems where findings will land.

Common questions:

Q: Do you test systems you built yourselves?
A: We do, but we do not present that as independent assurance. Where independence matters, and for anything customer facing it usually does, we recommend a separate testing party and work alongside them.

Q: What happens when you find something serious mid engagement?
A: You hear about it the day we find it, not in the final report. Critical findings come with an immediate containment recommendation, and the written record follows.

Q: How often should we run a penetration test?
A: At least once a year and after significant changes, such as a new application, a major release or a cloud migration. Continuous scanning covers the time between tests.

Q: Is a vulnerability scan the same as a penetration test?
A: No. A scan finds known weaknesses automatically; a penetration test has a person chain weaknesses together the way an attacker would, which is how most real breaches happen.

Q: What is the difference between CVSS and EPSS?
A: CVSS rates how severe a vulnerability would be if it were exploited. EPSS estimates how likely it is to be exploited in the near future. Using both, with CISA's catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities and what the affected system does for you, ranks findings far better than severity alone.

Q: What do you need from us before a penetration test?
A: An agreed scope, written authorization from someone entitled to give it, test accounts where the scope includes authenticated testing, and a contact who can be reached during testing. We also agree the test windows and anything that must not be touched, such as a fragile production system.

Q: Can testing disrupt production systems?
A: It can, which is why scope and methods are agreed in advance. Testers avoid destructive techniques unless they are explicitly approved, coordinate risky tests with your team, and stop at once if a system behaves unexpectedly. Some clients prefer to test against a staging environment that mirrors production.

Q: What happens when a vulnerability cannot be fixed?
A: It is recorded as an exception with an owner, a reason and a review date, and compensating controls are put in place, such as restricting access to the system or monitoring it more closely. An accepted risk is a decision someone has signed, not a finding left open.

Often paired with: 24/7 SOC and MDR, Governance, risk and compliance, DevOps and SRE.

---

Canonical page: https://www.expandware.com/services/managed-security/vulnerability-management-and-penetration-testing/
Site index for machines: https://www.expandware.com/llms.txt
Full site text: https://www.expandware.com/llms-full.txt

Expandware Private Limited. Inquiries: solutions@expandware.com, +92 (333) 32 11011.